10-men Bashundhara Kings escape defeat at home

Bashundhara Kings                1:1                   Sheikh Russel KCL

(Rakib Hossain 67-min)                                  (Kodai Lida 46-min)

10-men Bashundhara Kings hardly escaped a defeat against Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra in their last game of the first leg of ABG Bangladesh Premier League as the both sides shared one point each following a 1-1 tie at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Friday.

With the result, the table toppers Kings extended their earning to 21 points from nine matches, five points ahead of Mohammedan and seven points up Abahani. Russel, on the other hand, remained in the fifth position with 10 points from same number of matches.

Kings, the four time title holders, reduced to 10-men in the 42nd minute of the match when their Brazilian striker Dorielton Gomes received a marching order from the referee after hitting an opponent off-the ball.

After a barren first half, Russel took the lead in the second minute of the second half, thanks to a nice strike by Japanese playmaker Kodai Lida.

Kings, however, put immense pressure in the opponents' half the level the margin and they got the result in the 67th minute. Rakib, the in-form forward, scored his sixth in the league to cancel out Russel lead and eventually that helped Kings to escape another defeat at home.

Kings suffered their only defeat in the ongoing league at their home ground against Mohammedan.