A ten-man Abahani Dhaka beat a near-full strength Bengaluru FC 2-0 at the Bangabandhu Stadium on Wednesday to hand the 2016 finalist its first defeat of this year’s campaign.
With the score 0-0 and 11 minutes left, BFC was handed a big advantage when Mohammad Nasir’s hand-ball earned the Abahani player his second yellow card.
But it was Abahani which took the lead in the 87th minute when Saad Uddin tapped home a cross.
The second goal came two minutes into injury time when Rubel Miya robbed Amrinder Singh off the ball and chipped into an empty goal from a distance.
After four matches, BFC shares the top-spot with Maziya Sports and Recreation Club, which beat Mohun Bagan 5-2 at Male, on nine points.
Precarious position
After narrowly missing out on the I-League title, Mohun Bagan now finds itself on the verge of elimination following the defeat on Wednesday.
Maziya opened up an early lead through Yasfaadh Habeeb (13th) and Mohamed Umair (27th). When Alexsander Rakic (45th) added a third, the game appeared over as a contest.
Bagan, which needed a win to stay afloat in the tournament, pulled a goal back through Kingshuk Debnath in the 48th minute.
However, it fell further behind as Abdulla Asadhulla struck from the penalty spot before Rakic (60th) added a second.
Though Jeje Lalpekhlua scored from the spot in the 78th minute, it could not prevent Maziya earning a win.
The results:
At Dhaka: Abahani Dhaka 2 (Saad Uddin 87, Rubel Miya 90+2) bt Bengaluru FC 0.
At Male: MSRC 5 (Yasfaadh Habeeb 13; Mohamed Umair 27; Alexsander Rakic 45, 60; Abdulla Asadhulla 54) bt Mohun Bagan 2 (Kingshuk Debnath 48; Jeje Lalpekhlua 78).
