Abahani make winning start in Fed Cup

Malian forward Souleymane Diabate and midfielder Sheikh Morsalin scored a brace each in a winning performance as Abahani Limited made a winning start in the Federation Cup football, beating Fakirerpool Young Men's Club by 4-2 goals in a match held at Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital on Friday.

The winners led the first half by 3-1 goals.

The early breakthrough came when Diabate scored the first goal for Abahani in the 6th minute from a spot kick. Morsalin doubled the lead, scoring the second goal for Abahani in the 33rd minute of the match.

Diabate scored his second and third goals for Abahani Limited in the 39th minute again from a penalty while after the resumption Santo Todu reduced the margin, scoring the first goal for Fakirerpool in the 51st minute of the match.  

Morsalin further widened Abahani's margin, scoring his second and fourth goals for Abahani in the 63rd minute while forward M Riyad scored the second goal for Fakirerpool in the 69th minute of the match. 

Fakirerpool, however, tried their best to reduce the margin gap but could not score any in the remaining proceedings.

The sky blue Dhanmondi outfit Abahani dominated the proceedings, especially in the first half and notched their deserving victory, while Fakirerpool were off-coloured.

Meanwhile, Brothers Union Club split point with traditional old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj Muslim and Friends Society when their match ended in a tame goalless draw held at Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium in Cumilla on Friday.

In the day's match, both the teams got several scoring chances but failed to score any lacks of proper finishing.

NSA