BPL Football: Dhaka Abahani advance to 2nd spot beating Baridhara

Six times champions Dhaka Abahani returned to the winning streak in the 13-team Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Football beating Uttar Baridhara 2-1 on Thursday.

Dhaka Abahani suffered their first defeat in their last league match, embracing a 0-4 loss against league leader and title aspirant Bashundhara Kings, who clearly dominated the league table collecting 34 points from 12 matches.

With the day's win at the floodlight Bangabandhu National Stadium, The Sky Blue Brigade advanced to the second slot in the league table, securing 25 points from 12 matches while Sheikh Jamal went down to the third slot with 23 points from 11 outings.

Brazilian striker Francisco Torres scored first for Abahani in the 26th minute from a penalty (1-0).

Also, Uttar Baridhara's Uzbek defender Saiddoston Fozilov scored an own goal in the 55th minute while trying to foil an Abahani attempt (2-0).

However, MS Abdelrahim reduced the Uttar Baridhara margin in the 90th minute (2-1).

Earlier in the day's first match, former champions Sheikh Russel moved to fourth place, crushing newcomers Bangladesh Police 5-0 at the same venue.

With the day's comfortable victory, Sheikh Russel earned their sixth win in the league, securing 20 points from 12 matches while Police suffered their sixth defeat in the league and remained at the eighth slot.

Nigerian midfielder Ugochukwu Obi Moneke opened the floodgate for Sheikh Russel in the sixth minute (1-0) while Brazilian forward Giancarlo Lopes Rodrigues doubled the margin in the 28th minute (2-0).

Local midfielder Mohammad Abdullah scored two more goals in the 36th and 69th minutes (4-0) while Tajik defender Siyovush Asrorov sealed the fate of the match scoring the fifth goal for Sheikh Russel in the 84th minute (5-0).