Lt Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Ltd were forced to share points Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society as their Bangladesh Premier League encounter ended in 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
The round-15 match of Saif Power Battery sponsored BPL kicked off at 4:30pm at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the capital.
With four consecutive victories in the ongoing BPL, Sheikh Jamal were in a dominating position when the match started in contrast to lowly ranked Rahmatganj, who haven’t tasted win in their last five outings.
Jamal had the first set piece kick of the match in the 4th minute near the D-box but Rahmatganj defended well. Jamal attacked again in the 7th minute and once again, their counterpart Rahmatganj defended their post.
Rahmatganj had their first goal scoring chance in the 18th minute when their forward Dawda Ceesay entered into Jamal’s penalty area but skipper and defender Didarul Haque saved Jamal from conceding the first goal of the match.
Jamal’s midfielder Zahed Parvez Chowdhury took two free kicks in the 24th and 27th minute respectively in Rahmatganj’s side. The first set piece kick was edged out the side bar by few inches but the second kick put Jamal into misery. Jamal’s defender Yasin Haque’s misplaced pass helped Rahmatganj to counter attack and their Gambian recruit Ceesay easily netted the ball in Jamal’s post.
Jamal tried to make a comeback from one goal behind and attempted attacks and counter attacks but Rahmatganj were not in mood to concede any goal to level the score. They were rather focusing on ending the first half with one goal lead and wasting the last few minutes with passing to one another. Jamal’s Nigerian forward Raphael Onwrebe could have leveled the score before the half-time whistle but Rahmatganj’s goalkeeper Md Razib’s instant reflex saved the old Dhaka outfit.
The second half began with Jamal’s desperate attempts to score an equaliser and few opportunities were created in Rahmatganj’s penalty area but keeper Razib showed terrific resistance.
Sheikh Jamal’s recruit from Gambia, forward Solomon King Kanform proved his quality with a superb goal from a set piece kick outside the D-box in the 88th minute and brought Jamal back in the game. He is now the sharing the top spot of highest scorer chart of this season with teammate Raphael Onwrebe, both scoring 8 goals.
After the final whistle, the match ended in 1-1, just as their first meeting in the first leg of this season of BPL.
Two more matches are billed in today’s fixture of 15th round of BPL. Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra Ltd will face Saif Sporting Club Ltd in the first match at 4:30pm while Brothers Union Ltd will play against Arambagh Krira Chakra at 6:45pm. Both the matches will be played at Bangabandhu National Stadium.