In the second semifinal of the Federation Cup, which took place yesterday at the Shaheed Dhirendra Nath Dutta Stadium in Cumilla, Abahani defeated Sheikh Russel by a score of 3-0. This victory advanced Abahani to the final, where they will face their long-time rivals, Mohammedan. Coach Mario Lemos stated his joy over this achievement.
The Black and Whites came out on top in the last matchup, which took place at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in 2009; the final is scheduled to take place on May 30 in Cumilla and will be the first Federation Cup final to take place between the country’s two most popular clubs in 14 years.
Later, in the 2009 Super Cup and the 2011 Super Cup, the two teams competed against each other in the championship game of the respective cup, with the Black and Whites emerging victorious in the former and the Sky Blues gaining the upper hand in the latter.
As a result of Mohammedan’s 2-1 victory against the odds-on favorites Bashundhara Kings in the first semifinal the week before, this will be the first Dhaka Derby final in more than ten years, which is an exciting possibility for Lemos.
“I can’t contain my excitement. It’s a significant game with a long and illustrious past. I believe that it is a game that will cause the gallery to become quite crowded. “People who love football and love Mohammedan-Abahani, I hope we can have a good game and show them that Bangladesh football is still alive,” the Portuguese player said over the phone to The Daily Star following their triumph yesterday.
The Federation Cup is the tournament that has traditionally served as the season-opener for Bangladesh football, and Abahani has won it a record 12 times, making them the current champions of the tournament. However, for the first time ever during this season, it will take place at the same time as the Bangladesh Premier League.
Abahani is now in second place in the Bangladesh Premier League, 10 points behind the leaders Bashundhara Kings, while Mohammedan is currently in sixth place in the league, 11 points behind Abahani. Therefore, it is safe to assume that neither Abahani nor Mohammedan will win the league. Lemos is optimistic despite the fact that this is the first opportunity for either squad to win a trophy this season.
“I am aware that it is not going to be an easy task, but when you are in the championship game, it is only one game. The game is really challenging, but we have to come out on top. “We have to play the same way we played today — be patient, be disciplined, be organized, and try to win the game,” the Abahani coach who has been with the team for a long time remarked.
In the 38th minute, Costa Rican forward Daniel Colindres gave Abahani the lead with a powerful diagonal shot that followed a long pass from Rezaul Karim. This came after Sheikh Russel striker Mfon Udoh had missed a pair of scoring opportunities earlier in the match.
Six minutes after the game was restarted, Foysal Ahmed Fahim scored a well-placed effort after receiving a square ball from Raphael Augusto. This increased their lead to a two-goal advantage. The Bangladeshi attacker, who is only 24 years old, iced the game in the 71st minute with a floating shot that the Sheikh Russel goalkeeper, Ashraful Islam Rana, was unable to save.
According to Lemos, the squad did an excellent job defending their territory and effectively attacked on the counter.
“Sheikh Russel is an extremely difficult squad to triumph against. We faced them in competition three times in all. During the group stage of the Federation Cup, we had a record of one win, one loss, and one victory secured through penalty kicks. I anticipated a very close game with the score being either 1-0, 2-1, or 2-0 — one of those three options. We did an excellent job both defending and attacking the enemy. We came away with a satisfying victory,” Lemos continued.