Pushkar of Abahani broke the heart of Mohammedan
The VIP gallery at Maulana Bhasani Stadium has not been seen overflowing for so long. The audience shouted 'Abahani, Abahani' one after the other. Mohammedan viewers responded by saying 'fake, fake'.
Abahani and Mohammedan, the two arch-rivals of the country, faced each other today in the preparatory tournament Club Cup before the start of the Premier Hockey League. Abahani lost to Mohammedan with a last minute goal. Pushkar Khisa scored the only goal.
After almost three and a half years, these two teams have faced each other in domestic hockey. Abahani and Mohammedan last met on June 4, 2016. Abahani beat Mohammedan 3-2 in that match of the Super Five of the Premier League. Abahani left the field with the victory again.
Today, Mohammedan fielded three foreign players for the first time. The blacks and whites did not play very well with Indian players Ankush, Amandeep Singh and Atal Dev Singh. Abahani has yet to bring in their foreign players. However, without foreigners, Abahani has played with great power.
Playing on Mohammedan's forward line, Ankush missed several easy chances. Amandeep Singh's stickwork also failed to impress. Russell Mahmoud, Mohammedan's big hope, was not too bright either. Mainul Islam and Sarwar Hossain, the national team players who played in Mohammedan, also failed to shine in the big match.
Abahani got the first penalty corner in the 14th minute of the match. But the azure blue team could not use the opportunity. Mahbaub Hossain of Abahani sent the ball out in the next minute with a reverse hit. Mohammedan got the first penalty corner in the 36th minute of the match. Sarwar stops from Jimmy's push. But Ashraful's hit goes outside. But the Mohammedan players demanded another penalty corner from the umpire. The Mohammedan players were adamant about their demands and the game was stopped for about seven minutes at that time. They later agreed to play.
Towards the end of the match, Abahani became more aggressive. 30 seconds before the end of the match, Abahani was overjoyed when Pushkar Khisar hit from Mahbub Hossain's pass.