Federation Cup and Independence Cup champions Dhaka Abahani kept their title hopes alive in the 12-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) beating minnows Chittagong Abahani 3-2 at the Shaheed Direndranath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla Tuesday.
With the day's hard-fought victory, six times BPL champions Dhaka Abahani stayed in the league race securing 38 points from 17 matches to follow the league leader Bashundhara Kings distantly while Chittagong Abahani Limited remained at 5th slot with their previous credit of 26 points from 17 encounters.
Two-time defending champions Bashundhara Kings are already poised for the league crown for the 3rd time in a row as they comfortably dominated the league table securing 44 points from 17 matches
In the day's match, Dorielton Gomes struck twice and Nurul Naium Faisal netted one goal for the the popular sky-blue Dhanmondi outfit Dhaka Abahani while Afghan midfielder Omid Popalzay and Nigerian forward Peter Thankgod scored one each for the port city team yg Abahani.
Afghan midfielder Omid Popalzay put Chittagong Abahani ahead in the 32nd minute (1-0) while Brazilian forward Dorielton Gomes leveled the margin for Dhaka Abahani just two minutes later in the 34th minute (1-1)
Nigerian striker Peter Ebimobowei Thankgod again put the port city team ahead in the 40th minute from a penalty (2-1) while Brazilian booter Dorielton Gomes again neutralized the margin in the 71st minute scoring his 2nd goal (2-2) .
Local forward Nurul Naium Faisal scored the match-winning goal for Dhaka Abahani in the 78th minute amid satisfaction of their huge fans (3-2)
Nigerian booter Candy Augustine Agbane of Chittagong Abahani got marching order in the 57th minute to restrict the team to 10-man..
In the day's other match, newcomers and bottom-placed Swadhinata KS upset formidable Saif Sporting Club beating them by 2-1 goals at the Bir Shreshtho Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj on Tuesday.
After a barren first half, Nigerian forward Emeka Ogbugh scored first for Saif SC in the 58th minute (1-0) while Zillur Rahman restored the parity for Swadhinata KS in the 67th minute (1-1)
Serbian medio Ivan Maric scored the match-winner for Swadhinata KS in the 85th minute from a penalty (2-1).
Saif SC were restricted to 10-man when their defender Riyadul Hasan Rafi received red card in the 84th minute
The day's other match between Rahmatganj MFS and Uttar Baridhara Club ended in 1-1 draw at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.
Nigerian forward Sunday Chizoba scored for the old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS in the 80th minute (1-0) while Ivory Coast defender Youssouf Mory Bamba equalized the margin for Uttar Baridhara in the stoppage time (90+2) of the match.