Brothers Union Beat Abahani for First Win
Brothers Union finally secured their first win in the Bangladesh Football League (BFL), the country’s top domestic football competition, after defeating six-time champions Dhaka Abahani Limited 2-1 in Gopalganj on Friday.
The Gopibagh-based club had gone winless in their first four matches before Pakistani forward Syed Ali Raza scored twice to secure the victory in their fifth match. Local midfielder Robiul Hasan scored Abahani’s only goal.
Brothers’ attackers put Abahani’s defence under pressure from the start. They took the lead in the 27th minute when 22-year-old Ali Raza finished off a fine attacking move.
After taking the lead, Brothers focused on defence while continuing to threaten on the counterattack.
Abahani, coached by Maruful Haque, pushed for an equaliser after the break and levelled the score in the 57th minute through Robiul.
The match grew tense after the equaliser. In the 61st minute, an altercation broke out between players, prompting the referee to send off Brothers Union’s Jonathan and Abahani’s Nigerian player Okachi. Both teams were reduced to 10 men.
Brothers capitalised on a lapse in Abahani’s defence. In the 76th minute, Ali Raza scored his second goal of the match to restore Brothers’ lead at 2-1.
Abahani failed to find another equaliser, and Brothers held on to secure their first victory of the season.
The win lifted Brothers Union to eighth in the standings with five points from five matches.
Abahani, meanwhile, suffered another setback in their bid to reclaim the league title. After drawing their opening match against PWD, they had bounced back with victories over Wanderers and Chattogram City FC. The defeat left Maruful Haque’s side fifth with seven points from four matches.
In another league match on Friday, Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society secured their first win by defeating Fakirerpool Young Men’s Club 3-2 in a thrilling contest at Chandpur District Stadium.
Sajjad Hossain, Abhishek Limbu and Ibrahim Sene scored for Rahmatganj, while Solaiman Shila netted both goals for Fakirerpool.
The victory lifted Rahmatganj to seventh in the standings with six points from five matches. Fakirerpool, meanwhile, remained 11th with three points from four matches after suffering their third consecutive defeat.
