Home ›› 19 Dec 2021 ›› Sport
Dhaka Abahani beat defending Champions Bashundhara Kings 3-0 in the final of the Independence Cup 2021 at the Shaheed Sipahi Mostofa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday to claim their second title.
It was Abahani’s first Independence Cup title since 1990. In between, they lost two finals, the last coming in 2016.
Abahani skipper Raphael Augusto pulled the strings, but it was Brazilian striker Dorielton Gomes who scored a brace after Rakib Hossain opened the scoring in the second half.
Abahani dominated the match from the first minute, and an injury-hit Kings could not catch up with them.
Without first-choice centre-backs Topu Barman and Tariq Kazi, and midfielder Jonathan Fernandes due to injury, Oscar Bruzon opted for midfielder Atiqur Rahman Fahad to play in defence. He was playing well and kept Abahani at bay before an injury saw him leave the field in the 32nd minute.
Abahani though had taken the match by its neck by then. In the sixth minute, Dorielton had put the ball in the net, but his goal was ruled out because of offside.
In the first half, the Dhanmondi-based club had multiple opportunities as the Kings midfield failed to deal with Augusto and Daniel Colindres, who had won the Independence Cup for Kings in 2018.
Kings skipper Robson Robinho, their only bright spark in the final, created a glorious opportunity for Bosnian midfielder Stojan Vranjes in the 39th minute, who failed to hit the target.
The first half ended in a stalemate, and in the second half, Abahani came all guns blazing.
In the 54th minute of the game, Augusto managed to find Rakib with a pinpoint through ball. And once face to face with Zico, Rakib coolly dispatched the chance, putting Abahani in the lead.
And once that goal went in, Kings fell apart like a house of cards. Seven minutes later, Md Rimon Hossain fouled Colindres in the box, handing a penalty to Abahani which Dorielton dispatched emphatically to double their lead.
Five minutes later, Abahani were close to making it 3-0, but a brilliant double save from Zico kept Kings in the game.
But in the 72nd minute, Dorielton scored his second of the match and fourth goal of the tournament to seal the deal for Abahani. From Augusto’s corner, Milod Sheikh cushioned down a header for the Brazilian striker, and with a powerful striker, Dorielton made it 3-0.
Kings tried to stage an impossible comeback in the last 20 minutes of the match, but it looked more probable for Abahani to find a fourth than Kings to score one.
Kings’ only clear chance in the dying minutes came from Robson, but as his shot went wide, so did their dying hopes of a late drama.
