Dhaka – Bashundhara Kings reached the final of the ongoing TVS 31st Federation Cup Football Tournament eliminating newcomers Bangladesh Police Football Club by 3-0 goals in the second semifinal match at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Friday.
Kings will now play the final on Sunday against Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society which reached the final for the first time beating ten-time Fed Cup Champions Dhaka Mohammedan Ltd by 1-0 goal in the first semifinal on Thursday.
In the day’s match, defender Topu Barman, team’s captain Costa Rican forward Daniel Colindres Solera and Argentine defender Nicolas Delmonte clinched the victory for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) champions scoring one goal each.
Kings included Tajik defender Akhtam Nazarov in the place of Lebanese forward Mohamad Jalal Kdouh while Police made two changes ahead of the game – Naimur Rahman Shahed included in the place of Arif Khan Joy and Mohammad Al-Amin included in the place of Mohammad Swadin.
The Bangladesh Championship League (BCL) Champions Police FC, which appeared in the Fed Cup semifinal for the first time, tried to put pressure on their mighty opponents Kings from the very beginning of the game.
In the second minute, defender Md Isa Faysal got the first chance but he missed the target from inside the box while Kings’ goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico smartly denied a direct free-kick from Bulgarian midfielder Laskov Antonio in the 10th minute.
Just after two minutes, the BPL champions got a chance to open account while captain Daniel Colindres sent the ball with an awesome half volley kick from the danger zone. But the assistant referee rejected the goal signaling offside.
Kings finally got the breakthrough in the 16th minute while Police FC defender Khan Md Tara illegally tackled Colindres inside the box. Defender Topu made no mistake to convert the goal correctly (1-0).
After half-time, Kings put full pressure on Police FC with attacking football. In the 47th minute, Tajik defender Akhtam Nazarov missed a close chance. But, Colindres repaid the loss netting his first and team’s second goal with a right-footer angular drive in the 50th minute (2-0).
Kings got some more chances to widen the margin in the second half. But their two key midfielders Mohammad Ibrahim and Baktyir Duishobekov wasted the chances.
In the 87th minute, Ibrahim netted the ball with a tap-in shot from goal mouth melee utilising a pass from Colindres, but the goal was again cancelled by the referee due to off-side.
Just a few seconds before the final whistle, Argentine defender Delmonte buried ball into the Police FC net with a right-footer close range shot in the stoppage time (90+2 minutes) (3-0).
Police’s defender Khan Md Tara, forward M S Bablu, Kyrgyz defender Artur Muladzhanov and defender Yeasin Khan got yellow cards.
Bashundhara Kings: Anisur Rahman Zico, Yeasin Khan, Topu Barman, Motin Mia (Tawhidul Alam Sabuz), Bishwanath Ghosh, Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, Mohammad Ibrahim, Baktyir Duishobekov, Daniel Colindres Solera, Nicolas Delmonte, Akhtam Nazarov.
Bangladesh Police Football Club: Arifuzzaman Himel, Khan Md Tara, Nazmul Islam Rasel (Md Shadin), Naimur Rahman Shahed, Laskov Antonio, Luka Rotkovic (Josseph Mur Rahman), Rivera Sidney Adam, Md Isa Faysal ( Md Amirul Islam), Artur Muladzhanov, MS Bablu, Mohammad Al-Amin.UNB
