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Published on December 2, 2014
Defender Yeasin headed the all important goal in the 25th minute to give the 10-man Dhanmondi outfits their second title in the international arena after their triumph in the Safal Pokhara Cup in Nepal three years ago.
Sheikh Jamal also healed their wounds of missing out on the IFA Shield earlier this year where they were beaten by Kolkata Mohammedan in the controversial final. They defeated all two representative clubs from Indian League – Mohun Bagan in the group stages and Pune yesterday – to take the cup home.
The Dhanmondi based giants are also the first Bangladeshi club to lift the King’s Cup and the fact that Sheikh Jamal remained unbeaten throughout despite missing the service of their key player and club captain Mamunul Islam, who is currently in India to play ISL, makes the result more pleasant.
First choice midfielder Sohel Rana also missed the game due to suspension as Monaem Khan Raju replaced him in the heart of the midfield while Wedson Anselme also returned to starting XI after serving one-game suspension.
Pune pushed Sheikh Jamal from the beginning but couldn’t resist the Bangladeshi side from taking the lead as Haitian forward Wedson’s corner met Yeasin whose header rolled over the goal line after a blocked by Amrinder.
Pune was close to equalising in the 37th minute when Arata fed Prakash with a chip inside the box as the latter showed great skill and technique to release a left-footer only to find Yeasin in the way. Wedson exhibited his lovely skill minutes before the breather as he skipped past five players before Luciano finally blocked him from further damage.
Jamal coach Maruful Haque strengthened his defence by replacing Raju with Kasto Kumar as Pune nearly scored from a fabulous by-cycle kick attempt from Luciano before the Brazilian saw his 35-yard strike tipped over by Hemel.
Though Jamal Bhuiyan received a red in the 91st minute of the final,his side had no trouble coping with the decision.
-Dhaka Tribune
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