Dhaka, May 14: Abahani Limited’s hope of playing in the final round of the AFC President Cup suffered a setback as they played a goalless draw against Hasus NTCPE in a rain dampened match at the at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.
Now they must have to win their next match with Dordoi Bishkek, who have defeated NTCPE 5 - 0 in the previous game. So the journey became tougher for the hosts.
The home side got some very good chances but could not capitalize any of them. In the 9th minute Ujjal got a very good backhill pass from Meshu inside the penalty area and attempted on the post with a powerful left foot drive but the midfielder missed the target.
The chance of scoring increased in the second half for the Bangladeshi champions, when NTCPE lost one of their most active defenders, as the referee punished C. H. Yang showing a red card due to hitting sky bluer Siraji from the behind in the 58th minute.
The Dhaka giants became more offensive against the ten men side, but the stormy air and rain were working against them. Former national striker Motiur Munna took a powerful shot on the target from his Nigerian playmate Awudu’s pass but the stormy air blown it away from his aimed area.
Motiur gave a good forward pass to Awudu when the foreign recruit got the goalkeeper in a one to one situation. But he squandered the chance as he shot direct to the rival goalie.
The Chinese Taipei outfit got some good opportunities also but their strikers could not bring them the lead.
Abahani’s coach Amolesh Sen is not satisfied with his team’s performance. “We have to win the next match anyway and we will, if we can capitalize the opportunities” he said in a post match press briefing.