Russel's Fikru Zeida shines in first match
KFC Independence Cup Football
In spite of a three-minute lead, Arambagh Krira Sangha were defeated to strong Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra by 2-1 margin in their first match of the KFC Independence Cup Football-2016 on Tuesday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
Utilising a thru pass of local striker Mohammad Shajjaduzzaman Palash, Nigerian striker Kester Akon scored the opener after fooling two Russel defenders in the penalty area.
Nevertheless, Bengal blues took less than a minute to hold Arambagh boys back.
It was newly recruited Ethiopian striker Fikru Zeida who scored the leveller for the Russel boys. When the Arambagh defenders failed to clear a long shot in the danger zone, he quickly took control over the ball and wisely placed it into the post.
Surely the foreigner, who earlier played in the Indian Super League, is an asset for the club.
The disciples of coach Maruful Haque could take an easy lead in the 44th minute when they were awarded a freekick.
But their defender Atiqur Rahman Mishu's feeble shot was cleared by the opponent custodian Mitul Hasan in the small box.
The short whistle was blown with a 1-1 score on the score board.
The second half was mostly dominated by the Bengal blues and they eventually went ahead in the 81st minute as a result of Arambagh's vulnerable defence line at the last part of the match.
Snatching the ball from an opponent defender, Sheikh Russel's Cameroonian striker Paul Emile entered the danger area from the right and fired the near-post to seal the 2-1 win.
It was the very first match in Bangladesh for Sk Russel's Ethiopian striker Fikru Zeida and he also contributed a goal to win the match. He said, "It was not an easy task to do well in the very first match in here and I'm thankful to my comrades in here who are helping me to cope up with everything. I wish I'll do better in future matches."
But, coach Maruful was more concerned about Jamal Bhuiyan who could not play the match due to injury. The coach said, "My plane was based on Jamal Bhuiyan and in absence of him today was a bad thing for us and boys were not able to recover from the thing on the field. Also my defenders did mistakes and Arambagh boys put several attacks utilising the opportunity."