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Abahani reach Super Six

OUR CORRESPONDENT, Khulna
Abahani confirmed their berth in the Super Sixes of the Nitol-Tata 3rd National Football League yesterday after seeing off Sirajganj Mohammedan 3-1 in their
last Group B match at the Khulna Stadium.
With the win, Abahani raised their tally to seven points from four matches. Muktijoddha Sangsad have already qualified for the Super Sixes as group champions. The group's other qualifier will be
decided after the fixture between Chittagong Mohammedan and Bangladesh Army. Both teams have four points. Sirajganj ended their sorry campaign with just a single point.
Abahani came into the match knowing that anything short of a
victory would open up the unacceptable prospect of the Dhaka giants getting thrown out of the NFL. They were handicapped by the absence of key men Mintu and Prodip but the foreign recruits lifted their game just in time.
With Brazilian playmaker Alessandro Santos pulling the strings from the midfield, Nigerian Donald Agu and Arcadia Toe of Liberia were always going to be a handful for the Sirajganj minnows.
Abahani took the lead in the 23rd minute when Toe's pass from the left found Donald in the open and with the goal at his mercy, he made no mistake (1-0).
But against the run of play, Sirajganj equalised. A counter attack in the 38th minute saw a Fazlul Haq Montri cross from the right flank eluding a couple of Abahani defenders and Liton was there to find the net with a spectacular diving header (1-1).
Abahani came out all guns blazing after the breather and took control of the game. In the 57th minute, Alessandro hit a thunderous shot from outside the box that gave Sirajganj custodian Anwarul no chance (2-1). It was a deserving first goal from open play in Bangladesh for the skillful medio who was
SEE PAGE 14 COL 5 FROM PAGE 13
undoubtedly the outstanding player of the match.
Abahani sealed victory when substitute Khokon escaped the offside trap and rounded off Anwarul to score in the 77th minute (3-1).
TEAMS
Abahani KC: Titu, Nazrul, Sila, Alessandro, Donald, Iqbal, Aminul, Shuvro, Toe, Asad and Nayan (Khokon).
Sirajganj MSC: Anwarul, Jahir, Mohiuddin, Ujjal, A Malek, Kabir, Kallol, Mukhtar, Ratan, Liton and Fazlul Haq Montri.
Referee: Ibrahim Nesar.
Man of the Match: Alessandro (Abahani).