After failing three times, Bashundhara Kings finally completed their domestic treble as they came from behind to overthrow the defending champions Mohammedan Sporting Club 2-1 in a controversial 120-minute Federation Cup final at the Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh on Wednesday.
Forward Zahid Hossain scored the winner for the Kings in extra time to seal the third trophy of the season for his side.
Kings came this close to completing their domestic treble in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23 where they won the domestic double, but just could not get their hands on the third. Last time it was Mohammedan, who denied their treble in the Federation Cup final.
Kings started their season by winning the season-opener Independence Cup downing the same opposition by the same margin in December last year. Earlier this month, they secured their Bangladesh Premier League title when they beat second-placed Mohammedan by 2-1 goals at the same venue.
Kings started the match in their familiar playing style. They were attacking one after another and Mohammedan defenders were too busy to defend.
The first goal-scoring chance for the Kings came in the 26th minute as Rakib Hossain supplied a through ball in the box, Dorielton Gomez went for the shot but Mohammedan goalkeeper Sujon Hossain made a long run from the box to close in the shooting space for Dori and saved the ball brilliantly.
Shohel Rana Jr missed a huge scoring chance for Mohammedan in the 36th minute as Miguel Figueira sent a through ball from the midfield in the left wing for Rakib then he cut back the ball towards Shohel Rana Jr and he failed to keep the ball on target.
By the 40th minute, Mohammedan gradually came out of their shell and created some goal-scoring threats.
The Black and Whites created their first scoring chance in the 41st minute when Mojaffar Mojaffarov sent a through ball to Emmanuel Sunday and the Nigerian shot the ball over the post.
Kings goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon made a brilliant save to deny Souleymane Diabate in the next minute when the Mohammedan forward shot a powerful volley.
The first half ended with neither side being able to break the deadlock even though there were multiple goal-scoring chances created from either side.
After coming from the break, both teams played equally and attacked one after another. It started with Kings forward Dorielton trying a by-cycle shot in the 48th minute but did not connect it well.
Mohammedan midfielder Mojaffarov’s powerful shot just outside the box was brilliantly saved by Kings goalkeeper Srabon in the 60th minute. He again saved a brilliant head from Diabate in the next minute which was from the corner set piece.
In the 62nd minute, Diabate broke the deadlock for Mohammedan as his left-footed powerful shot directly found the net.
Dorielton missed a scoring chance for Mohammedan in the 77th minute as Sujon saved that brilliantly. Three minutes later, Robson’s powerful shot was far from the box and Sujon saved that again.
Diabate missed an easy chance in the 81st minute after getting Mohammedan goalkeeper alone. His shot was blocked by Srabon.
Miguel scored for the Kings in the 87th minute and brought his team into the match. He dribbled five Mohammedan players before taking the powerful shot.
The second half ended with 1-1 and the match went for extra time to find the champion.
Substituted Jahid scored the winning goal for Bashundhara Kings in the last minute of the first half of extra time. Miguel took a corner and Mohammedan goalkeeper Sujon Hossain missed the flight and could not grab the ball. Jahid used this opportunity to send the ball in.
Jahid’s goal created a controversy as Mohammedan players appealed for a foul for pushing Diabate who fell over Sujon which resulted in him slipping the ball away from which Jahid scored the winner.
