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Of joy and sorrow

Atique Anam
No less than a thousand fans from the Western Gallery stormed onto the pitch as the referee blew the final whistle on what had been an intriguing and entertaining end to a Premier League campaign. The supporters, some of them carrying the Sky Blue flag of Abahani Limited embraced their heroes who wrestled back the league, which has been one of theirs, to the Dhanmondi Club.
Abahani's Iranian coach Ali Akbar Pourmoslemi burst into tears after the win as he dedicated this win to former Iranian coach of Bangladesh Naser Hejaji.
“This is for Naser Hejaji. If he were alive today, he would have been very happy,” said Akbar as he wiped away the tears.
The centre of attention of the fans were — Shakhawat Rony and Zahid Hossain — the two forwards who got Abahani back in the match and eventually won them the title. Rony, who was a regular player in the last season, became a substitute this time as he kept missing chances, but when the team needed a goal last evening, the Chittagong boy came up with the most vital goal of his career.
“This was the best goal of my career. I have been benched for most of the league,
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but when my club needed a goal I delivered, and I thank Allah for the goals.”
Abahani's mercurial winger Zahid Hossain probably saved his best performance for the last match and justified the reasons why both fans and coaches rate him as the best winger of the country. The first goal that Rony scored was beautifully set up by the long-haired winger while the second was finished clinically by the natural number 7.
"This was the best match of my career. I dedicate this goal to my parents. All the time I kept saying to myself if I can get the ball, I can make a difference." And he did make a big difference.
While everyone was celebrating at the Abahani dug-out, the Muktijopddha players Emily, Mithun, Sunday and the others were
sitting dejected at their own dug out, and perhaps reflecting on what could have been. They were close to winning their first professional league title, and twice they thought Sunday Chizoba landed them the silverware, only to be proved wrong. The Nigerian, who had had a terrific season at the All Reds tent scoring 15 goals, was left speechless at the end as he buried his head in his hands at the side of the pitch.
His coach Shafiqul Islam Manik said it was an entertaining encounter, one of the best matches of the league but in the end they fell short of the desired target.
“The league was very entertaining, even if the refereeing was below par, in the last match as well. The opposition played well which caused a few mistakes at the back, and there we lost it,” said Manik.