Abahani, Rahmatganj through to Independence Cup semis

Abahani Limited survived a penalty shootout scare against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club to move onto the semifinal of Independence Cup with a 3-2 victory on penalties in the second quarterfinal at Bashundhara Kings arena on Sunday.

In the first quarterfinal of the day, Rahmatganj MFS confirmed a berth in the semifinals for the first time since 2018 with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Bangladesh Police FC.

After the regulation time ended 0-0, Abahani finally broke the deadlock four minutes into extra-time with a strike from Jonathan Fernandes.

Abahani's Washington Brandao could have killed off the game in the first half of extra time but the lanky forward failed to beat Sheikh Jamal goalkeeper Nayeem in a one-on-one situation.

Sheikh Jamal's Brazilian recruit Higor Leite then levelled the margin in the stoppage time of the first-half of extra-time with a brilliant free-kick.

Both teams failed to score in the second half of extra time as the match went down to penalties.

Abahani's substitute goalkeeper Shamim Hossain stopped two shots in the shootout but off-target shots from his teammates Emeka Oghbog and Rabiul Hasan killed off Abahani's advantage.

Finally, Iran's Milan Sheikh Soleimani converted the final penalty to confirm a seat in the semifinal for Abahani.

In the day's earlier match, Rahmatganj MFS's Ghanaian forward Samuel Mensah Konney scored a brace to power them to a win over Police FC.

Police FC, who have played the semifinal of the last two editions of the Independence Cup, put Rahmatganj under pressure from the start and came close to scoring twice but were denied by goalkeeper Md Nayem.

Rahmatganj defender Md Sayde then brought down Venezuelan player Edward Enrique inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty to Police FC.

Colombian forward Edis Horacio Garcia stepped in to convert from the spot in the 24th minute.

But Police could hold onto the lead for only five minutes as Rahmatganj scored two almost identical goals in quick succession to take a decisive lead in the match

In the 29th minute, Uzbek defender Iskandar Siddik Jonov headed down a free-kick from Sushanta Tripura and Samuel then drove the ball home from inside the box.

Just two minutes later, Tripura again found Iskander with his free-kick, who sent the ball to Samuel and the Ghanain flicked the ball home from close range.

In the second half, Police dominated the possession but could hardly challenge the backline of Rahmatganj.

Police FC had a chance to equalise in the stoppage time but Edward Enrique drove his shot wide from close range, and Kamal Babu's charges left the field victorious.