Ten-man Abahani came from behind to play out an entertaining 3-3 draw against holders Sheikh Jamal DC in the JB Bangladesh Premier League at the Sylhet District Stadium yesterday.
The tie was equally crucial for both title contenders as Sheikh Jamal looked to consolidate their solo lead at the top and defy Abahani's intention of toppling them, but both teams had to be content with a draw which saw Sheikh Jamal increase their points tally to 19, while Abahani were placed behind with 17 points from nine outings.
Both teams played attacking football from the outset in the fast paced-match and both of them could have taken an early lead within the first five minutes. However, their forwards' failures kept both teams waiting, before Wedson Anselme broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute.
The Haitian hitman made no mistake as he volleyed home after Abahani defender Tapu Barman's clearing header from a Landing Darboe cross fell straight to Wedson.
However, the lead only lasted four minutes as another poor clearance, this time from goalkeeper Maksudur Rahman Mustaq cost Sheikh Jamal.
Mustaq's attempted clearance from Emon Babu's corner fell to Fahad, who easily colley home from inside the box one minute into the six minutes of added time in the first half.
Abahani then took the lead deep into stoppage time as English midfielder Lee Tuck scored from a well-placed shot, making amends for squandering his penalty a minute earlier.
After resumption, Abahani seemed like they would move on from their poor performance against Sheikh Russel KC in the previous match, but Fahad put Abahani in a critical situation after he was red-carded with 40 minutes remaining. Referee Azad Rahman did not hesitate in booking Fahad for the second time after the midfielder became embroiled in an unnecessary argument with Sheikh Jamal midfielder Enamul Haque Sharif and pushed him in an off-the-ball situation.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Abahani extended their lead to 3-1 as Sunday Chizoba struck his fifth goal in the league. However, the Sky Blues failed to hold onto the lead as a result of sloppy defending.
Availing a header from Emeka Darlington, an unmarked Landing reduced the margin in the 56th minute, before Wedson danced past defender Mamun Mia on the right and equalised by placing a shot from a difficult angle in the 76th minute.
Later in the day, Sheikh Russel KC finally got their win after nine matches with a 1-0 win over Mohammedan SC, thanks to a 51st minute strike from Paul Emile.
Sheikh Russel KC came into the match on the back of a 1-1 against Dhaka Abahani and beat the Black and Whites to leapfrog to 11th position with five points, one point behind Mohammedan, who tasted their third defeat in nine matches.