Malian forward Souleymane Diabate scored the match winner for the 10-man Mohammedan Sporting Club鈥檚 solitary goal victory over previous season treble winners Bashundhara Kings in their first meeting of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League at the Shaheed Dhirendranath Dutta Stadium in Comilla on Friday.
In the other day鈥檚 match, forward Nabib Newaz Jibon (55th, 68th) scored a brace for Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society鈥檚 2-0 win over Chittagong Abahani at the Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh.
The second consecutive win helped Mohammedan bag six points to reach the top of the table followed by Rahmatganj MFS, who also six points from two games.
Diabate scored the match winning goal in the 58th minute, 33-minute later the Mohammedan were reduced to a 10-man side with their goalkeeper Sujon Hossain receiving a straight red card.
Sujon in a safety attempt committed foul outside the box when he tackled onrushing Kings forward Rakib Hossain and the referee Symoon Hossain did not hesitate to give Sujon marching order.
Shakib Al Hasan came in to fill the gap of Sujon while midfielder Arif Hossain was sacrificed off the ground.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Kings were desperately looking to have the lead but Shakib stood strong to save his side, denying Kings midfielder Sohel Rana鈥檚 attempt in the final minute of the first half.
Kings controlled the possession well from the restart and came close to success once in the 54th minute when Brazilian midfielder Miguel Damasceno only needed to beat Shakib.聽聽
Mohammedan got the only goal from a counterattack as midfielder Rahim Uddin provided a long ball to Diabate, who easily beat Kings keeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon.
Mohammedan could have doubled the lead in the 75th minute but Srabon stopped Diabate to convert the spot kick.
Mohammedan started the league campaign with a crushing 6-0 win over promoted Dhaka Wanderers while Rahmatganj started with 3-1 win over Fortis Football Club and Kings crushed Ctg Abahani 6-0.
