Saif Sporting Club moved into the semifinals of the Federation Cup for the first time following a 7-6 win in sudden death tiebreaker against 10-time champions Mohammedan in the second quarterfinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The topsy-turvy encounter moved into penalty shootout as neither side could find the back of the net in the second half of normal time as well as 30 minutes of extra time after a frantic first half, which has produced four goals.
Mohammedan’s Aminur Rahman Sajib and Atikuzzaman missed their spot-kicks while apart from Yeasin Arafat’s attempt which cannoned off the crossbar, the charges of Paul Put were bang on target, setting up a semifinal clash against Chattogram Abahani on January 6.
This will be the first ever semifinal appearance for Saif, who were eliminated from the quarterfianls in the last two editions following a first-round exit in their debut appearance in 2017.
For Mohammedan, though, the wait for a record-equalling 11th title in the curtain-raising tournament of the season extended to 11 years. Sean Lane’s charges had exited from the semifinals in the last edition, but failed to go even that far this season, despite making a strong start in the game.
The Black and Whites came running out of the blocks and caught Saif off-guard with a barrage of attacks in the first five minutes, in the process taking the lead with the clock barely registering a minute.
Habibur Rahman Sohag’s corner was headed by Mounzi Couliadati towards fellow defender Atikuzzaman, who nodded home from close range. Mohammedan could, in fact, have gone in front within the first 16 seconds of the game had it not been for a last-ditch clearance on a placing shot from Farhat Mona. The Black and Whites wasted another gilt-edged chance soon before they let Saif back into the game with some sloppy defending.
It was another corner that gave Saif the equaliser in the seventh minute, with Emmanuel Ariwachuku, completely unmarked inside the box, nodding home Faisal Ahmed Fahim’s swinging corner.
Another defensive mishap saw Saif take the lead four minutes later, with Ikechukwu Ngowke burying home a long-ball from the midfield.
Saif enjoyed more possession and had more of the chances since that period, but Souleymane Diabate restored parity just before half-time with a powerful header on Shahed Mia’s corner.
The second half and the 30 minutes of extra time saw a battle of attrition between Saif forwards and Mohammedan goalkeeper Ahsan Habib Bipu, the youngster coming up trumps against everything Saif threw at him, making three point-blank saves. The woodwork, too, came into Black and Whites’ rescue twice as it seemed as if the Motijheel outfit would come victorious in the end.
But Bipu’s heroics deserted him in the shootout as he failed to make a save out of seven attempts despite getting his hand on the ball on a couple of occasions. His opposite number, Pappu Hossain, made one save and that in the end, considering one missed attempt by each team, proved to be the difference in this thrilling encounter.
