Mohammedan beat Abahani to finish second in three competitions

Mohammedan Sporting Club finished runners-up in the Bangladesh Premier League with a 2-1 win against Abahani as the domestic football season came to an end on Wednesday.

It was the third second-place finish for the Black and Whites in three competitions this season, with Bashundhara Kings winning all those three –Independence Cup, Federation Cup and Bangladesh Premier League.

This was also the first time since the 2009-10 season that the Motijheel outfit finished second in the league, having previously done so in the first three editions of the professional league.

Mohammedan, who were held to a 2-2 draw by the Sky blues in their first meeting in the league, conceded the lead when Bruno Rocha opened the scoring in the 13th minute of the game at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

However, midfielder Arif Hossain scored an eqauliser 16 minutes later and the same player scored the winning goal in the 90th minute to take Mohammedan to 35 points from 18 matches.

Abahani, the six-time champions, had to settle for a third place with 32 points. However, the Dhanmondi giants can find solace from their fact that their Grenadian striker Cornelius Stewart finished as the top-scorer of the league with 19 goals, followed by Mohammedan captain Soleymane Diabate on 17 and Kings striker Dorielton Gomes on 14. Rakib Hossain of Bashundhara Kings finished as the top-scorer among the locals and fourth overall with nine goals.

Champions Kings, meanwhile, finished with 45 points after coming back from a goal down to beat Sheikh Russel KC 3-1 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena.

Vojislav Balabanovic gave Sheikh Russel a 13th minute lead but Kings, who had rested a couple of key players, equalised two minutes after the break through Miguel Ferreira. Local stars Rakib and Sheikh Morsalin then scored two goals as the champions wrapped up the campaign with their 14th win in 18 matches.

Sheikh Russel, on the other hand, finished sixth with 19 points.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Police finished fourth with a 2-0 win against already-relegated Brothers Union while Fortis FC secured sixth position with a 3-1 win over Chittagong Abahani, who finished seventh.

The eighth position was taken by three-time champions Sheikh Jamal DC, who were beaten 2-0 by Rahmatganj, who finished ninth.