Fed Cup: Kings face Rahmatganj in final Sunday for maiden title

Dhaka – Bashundhara Kings will play Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society in the final of the TVS 31st Federation Cup Football Tournament’2020, both keeping the birds eyes on the maiden title.

The final match will kick-off at 4 pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here.

Star-studded Bashundhara Kings reached final eliminating newcomer Bangladesh Police Football Club by 3-0 goals in the 2nd semifinal on Friday.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions Kings started mission in the season’s curtain raiser soccer meet aiming to bag their maiden Fed Cup title.

After beating Brothers Union Limited by 1-0 goal in the first group match, Kings suffered a shocking 0-2 goals defeat against Chittagong Abahani Limited in the 2nd match.

But, Kings bounced back in the race eliminating Group D champions Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra by 4-1 goals in a nail-biting tie-breaker as the 4th and last quarterfinal match between them was locked in 1-1 goals in stipulated 90-minute and also in the extra session.

Ahead of the match, Bashundhara Kings President Imrul Hasan said that his side is hungry to secure their first Fed Cup title.

“All the booters are motivated and well prepared for the final. They are hungry for their first-ever title. We finished runners-up last year, we missed the target. But, we will not want to make any mistake this year. The title is ours,” said Bashundhara Kings president.

Asking about their shocking defeat against Ctg Abahani, Imrul said, “We’re getting ready for the upcoming AFC Cup. So, we’ve made several experiments in the ongoing meet. We didn’t take any risk in the semifinal. We’re taking the final seriously.”

On the other hand, the giant-killer Rahmatganj MFS maintained their unbeaten run to reach Fed Cup final for the first time eliminating ten-time Fed Cup Champions Dhaka Mohammedan SC by 1-0 goal in the first semi-final last Thursday.

The old Dhaka outfit Rahmantganj booked a seat for the semifinal upsetting eleven-time champions Dhaka Abahani Limited by 4-3 goals in the tie-breaker as their first quarterfinal match between them ended in 1-1 draw in the extra-time after goalless in stipulated period last Monday last.

With the shocking departure of Dhaka Mohammedan, all the six former champions — Dhaka Abahani Ltd., Sheikh Jamal DC Ltd., Sheikh Russel KC, Muktijoddah Sangsad KC and Brothers Union — eliminated from the ongoing meet earlier.

Rahmatgonj reached in the quarterfinal as unbeaten runners-up of Group C. They played two successive draws — 0-0 against Saif SC and 1-1 against Sheikh Jamal DC — in the group matches.

About their plan for the final, Rahmatgonj Head Coach Sayed Golam Jilani said, “They [Kings] are a big team. They have national colored players and world-cup playing star too. They are likely to play all-out football. On the other hand, our players are young. The main thing is the temperament. They have to maintain their temperament in the field.”

Last year, Bashundhara Kings bagged their maiden Bangladesh Premier League title securing 63 points, five points ahead of runners-up Dhaka Abahani, from 24 matches while Rahmatganj MFS finished 10th in the thirteen-team meet securing 22 points from 24 matches with four wins, ten draws and ten defeats.

The Kings defeated Rahmatganj in both home and away matches by 1-0 goal and 3-2 goals respectively in the last year league.UNB