Sheikh Russel advanced to the semifinals of the Federation Cup thanks to a goal scored by Nigerian striker Kenneth Ikechukwu Ngwoke in the first half of their match against Rahmatganj. The match took place at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Flight Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj yesterday.
The runner-up of this year’s Independence Cup, Sheikh Russel, will meet the reigning champions, Abahani, on May 16. This match will take place after the champions of this year’s Independence Cup, Bashundarha Kings, face Mohammedan on May 9.
Sheikh Russel had a strong beginning to the match, dominating play in the middle third of the field. They took the lead in the 17th minute when Ngoke made a spectacular drive to the far post after Mfon Udoh Sunday had played a cutback pass for him.
Sheikh Russel were reduced to 10 men at the beginning of the match as a result of defender Abid committing a second bookable offence in the 58th minute; however, Rahmatganj, who finished as runners-up in the most recent iteration of the Federation Cup, were unable to capitalize on that advantage.
Sheikh Russel, on the other hand, was the one who came the closest to scoring. However, Ngwoke squandered a chance in which he only needed to beat the goalkeeper by driving the ball wide, and the substitute Dipok Roy also failed to hit the target in the stoppage time.