Bashundhara Kings reached the semifinals of the Federation Cup Football Tournament eliminating Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra by 4-1 goals in the tie-breaker of a nail-biting 4thand last quarterfinal match at the floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday, agencies say.
The match was locked in a 1-1 goal in the stipulated 90 minutes. Both teams also failed to score in the extra session that forced the match towards the tie-breaker. They will play Police FC in the 2nd semifinal on Friday, 3 January.
In the tie-breaker, Kyrgyz midfielder Baktyir Duishobekov, Argentine defender Nicolas Delmonte, captain cum Costa Rican forward Daniel Colindres Solera and substitute midfielder Atiqur Rahman Fahad scored for the Kings in the tie-breaker
On the other hand, captain cum Cameroon forward Biyaga Paul Emili scored the lone goal for Mutijoddha. Kings Goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico smartly saved two attempts of Muktijoddha’s Japanese midfielder Norito Hash Higuchi and local midfielder Md Tarikul Islam.
Earlier in the schedule time, the Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings got their success in the 3rd minute of the game. Lebanese forward Mohamad Jalal Kdouh sent the ball home by a close-range grounder inside from the box, utilizing a short pass of another forward Motin Mia (1-0).
Kings could widen the margin in the 20th minute as their captain cum Costa Rica forward Daniel Colindres Solera netted the ball home, but referee Sohrab Hossan rejected the goal due to offside.
Kings got another chance in the 28th minute but a long-range shot of Mahbubur Rahman Sufil was denied by Muktijoddha goalkeeper Mahfuz Hasan Pritom.
On the other hand, Muktijoddha tried to make counter attacks against their mighty opponents. The three-time Federation Cup champions got a close chance to level margin in the 36th minute but midfielder Md Tarikul Islam failed to fire the net.
After the half-time, both teams made several eye-catching attempts but failed to convert any. In a span of one minute, both captains missed one chances each.
In the 58th minute, Muktijoddha captain Biyaga Paul Emili missed a close call inside from the box and just a minute later Colindres missed the target in the 57th minute.
Muktijoddha finally got the success as their forward Mahaedi Hassan Royel leveled the margin by a simple tap-in shot from the danger zone in the 76th minute (1-1).
The goal boosted Muktijoddha’s morale and confidence and they started to put pressure on Kings, but all of their efforts went in vain near Kings defense wall. In the 84th minute, Kings goalkeeper Zico smartly saved a close-range header of Cameroon forward Emili.
Brazilian defender of Muktijoddha Albert Fronk Da Silva Santos and Lebanese forward of Kings Mohamad Jalal Kdouh got yellow cards in the match.
