Three second-half goals inside 15 minutes helped Abahani

avoid a major embarrassment as they came back from behind to beat bottom club Dipali Juba Sangha 3-1

on Sunday.

Ugandan striker Idris Mutubi had given Dipali a shock lead in the first half against the run of play but the Sky Blues sealed their sixth win with strikes from Tipu, Farhad and Ndem Kiyek.

The victory kept Abahani mathematically alive in the title race. They

moved two points within Muktijoddha, who are in third with 25 with five games remaining. Table toppers Brothers however are ten points ahead of the Sky Blues.

Abahani, who have never finished below third in the top flight of local football, now must beat Muktijoddha on Wednesday to brighten their chances of maintaining that record at least.

Winless Diplai, who fought bravely in their 5-3 loss to Abahani in the first-leg, survived an opening salvo before going ahead in the 15th minute.

Ibrahim and Farhad forced fine saves by Dipali's second-choice custodian Sameer but Abahani paid for being too attacking when Idris, breaking an off-side trap with a through from Rubel, went round goalkeeper Nizam to put the ball into an open net.

In the rest of the first half, it was all Abahani as centre-back Tarek cleared the ball a couple of times from the goalline and Sameer pulled off two spectacular saves against Ghanaian Ibrhaim before denying Farhad from point-blank range. Another opportunity went begging as Tipu rattled the sidebar.

Ibrahim, whose robust runs

down the left flank put the rival backline under constant threat, however, did not commit the same mistake four minutes after the break. He dodged past three defenders and played a square pass for unmarked Tipu who had raced near the far post. Tipu was left with a simple tap-in for the equaliser. It was Tipu's fifth goal in the Premier League.

Farhad, who returned after missing three matches, gave the lead five minutes later when he fired a superb angular left-footer into the far corner from 30 yards. It was the veteran striker's sixth goal this season.

Ndem's quick shot on goal made it 3-1 for Abahani in the 64th minute. Dipali stopper Apu failed to clear a backpass inside the penalty area and the Abahani midfielder snatched the ball to power home.

Earlier in the day, relegationzone sides Dhaka Wanderers and Youngmen's Club shared points in a 1-1 draw. Nigerian striker Henry shot Wanderers ahead after 36 minutes but Robin levelled scores for Youngmen's when the skipper headed home a rebound after his 43rd minute penalty was partly blocked by rival keeper Sohel.

FROM PAGE 12

Yellow card: Rajib (Dipali)

TEAMS

ABAHANI: Nizam, Obaidur,

Marshall (Shipon), Pradeep, Wali, Ujjal, Joy, Ndem, Ibrahim (Tushar), Farhad (Zahid) and Tipu.

DIPALI: Sameer, Domba, Apu,

Tarek, Azad, Tajul, Chanchal (Biplab), Rizvi (Daulat), Rajib, Idris and Rubel (Jalal).

Referee: Abdur Rakib.