Abahani’s title hope ends after Shohel’s unforgivable fumble

Abahani Ltd. Dhaka 1-1          Bangladesh Police FC

(Cornelius-9 min)                    (Bablu-88 min)

Shahidul Alam Shohel, the veteran goalkeeper of Abahani Limited, made a childlike mistake in the 15th round match of the ABG Bashundhara Bangladesh Premier League that forced the traditional Sky-Blue outfits shared one point each with Bangladesh Police Football Club following a 1-1 tie at the Shahid Sheikh Fazlul Haq Mani Stadium in Gopalgonj on Friday.

Abahani took the lead in the ninth minutes of the match when their Saint Vincent forward Stewart Cornelius found the back of the net. Abahani, who suffered a 1-2 defeat over table toppers Bashundhara Kings last week that all but finished their title hope, were heading to another win protecting thier own net most of the time of the game. But Shohel made an unforgivable fumble just two minute before ending the stipulated time. Mathews Bablu, the substitute midfielder, tried a weak shot from out site the box that slipped past between Shohel's legs after he failed to grip the low shot with his gloves.

Abahani's hope of winning the title dashed with the result and they also failed to touch their archrivals Mohammedan in the points table. Abahani now have 26 points from 15 matches that kept them in the third position, two points behind Mohammedan, who will face Bashundhara Kings Saturday. Bangladesh Police remained in the fourth position with 22 points.