Chittagong Abahani are looking forward to winning their maiden title of the Federation Cup when they square off against holders and nine-time champions Dhaka Abahani in today's final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. The match will start at 7:30pm.

The port city side burst into the limelight last season by spending a lot to poach national players and success was instant as they won the Independence Cup and finished second behind champions Dhaka Abahani in the Bangladesh Premier League. However, they failed to get past the group stages in the Federation Cup. And now, they are just one step away from winning their second domestic title but to do that they need a repeat of last year's Independence Cup final where they beat the same opposition.

The charges of Saiful Bari Titu are also taking inspiration from that final even though they struggled a lot in beating Rahmatganj MFS 1-0 in the semifinal a few days ago.

"It is the first time that Chittagong Abahani are going to play in the Federation Cup final but they had already tasted a title victory in the Independence Cup last season," recalled Titu even though he did not mention the fact that they beat Dhaka Abahani 2-0 in that final.

In fact the two sides met three times last season, and won one apiece while the other encounter ended in a draw. This season they are squaring off for the first time as both sides come into the final unbeaten.

"It is a big thing to reach the final of Federation Cup and it is a matter

of pride as well. We will not only play the final just because we have qualified, we will play to win. From that perspective, the boys will try to give their maximum effort with a winning approach," said Titu, who is keeping his faith on the youngsters alongside experienced players like Mamunul Islam and Zahid Hossain.

It is not going to be easy for Chittagong Abahani though as their Dhaka namesake are in fine form after starting the season through the AFC Cup in which they played six matches against the top clubs of South Asia. They have transformed that experience to the Federation Cup and reached the final to retain the title and get level with Mohammedan SC's highest 10 Federation Cup hauls.

The club's coach, Drago Mamie, is pretty unimpressed with the busy schedule that he has had to cope with, playing three matches in five days. The Croat coach was sarcastic when asked about his side's chances in the final.

"We are preparing in bed because the schedule made us play three games in five days," Mamie said. "We are just fighting to recover. I hope that the team will recover in time for tomorrow's [Tuesday] game. The condition now is not good."

Captain iMamun Mia, however, put on a brave face as he vowed to retain the title.

"We still have 14-15 hours to recover fully. We actually do not feel the fatigue. We have to win it by displaying better performance and that is our target. We don't have time to see who is tired and who is injured. The opponents have many national team players but we are no less than them. We will try our best to win the match and become champions," said the centre-back.