Kings crash at Maziya

Bashundhara Kings' perfect record against Maldivian clubs ended in disastrous fashion as they were handed a 3-1 defeat in the season's first AFC Cup fixture away at Maziya S&RC in Male yesterday.

The four-time Bangladesh Premier League champions, who had previously beaten the same opposition twice and TC Sports once in the previous encounters of the AFC Cup, suffered their first defeat in Male despite dominating the game with better ball possession, passing and attempts.

Playing with five foreign players against six of Maziya, Kings saw their centre-forward Dorielton Gomez waste a number of early opportunities before a 35-yard thunderbolt from Vojislav Balabanovic unlocked Kings' goal in the 15h minute.

The Bangladesh champions continued to dominate, with Rakib Hossain and Robson Robinho creating goal-scoring opportunities, but Maziya doubled their advantage against the run of play with Hassan Nazeem scoring with a volley from the top of the box.

Veteran Maldivian forward Ali Fasir scored the third goal with a clever finish on a through-ball in the first minute of stoppage time before substitute Mohammad Ibrahim scored a consolation goal two minutes later.

The charges of Oscar Bruzon will host Odisha FC of India in their second match of the competition at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on October 2.