Mohammedan in Federation Cup final for 17th time

Mohammedan Sporting Club secured the final of Federation Cup Football for the 17th time on Tuesday as the boys in the traditional black and white outfits outplayed Bangladesh Police boys in a 2-1 match in the first semi-final match at the Shaheed Bir Shrestha Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj.

The black and white battalion had come to play the final of the event 16 times before. It is written had come to play as the team, in reality, was able to play the final 15 times while the 1984 final between Mohammedan and Abahani was abandoned before even kicking off due to a riot.

So far, Mohammedan is the second highest-achieving team in the tournament by winning the champions trophy 11 times and the runner-up trophy four times. There was doubt whether the 1984 finalists were announced joint champions. However, the boys are close to winning another trophy for sure.
In the match on Tuesday, foreign booter Sunday and local striker Shahriar Emon scored one each for the winners while Uktamov scored one for the Police team.

The two teams faced off each other seven times in different events before Tuesday. There, all the matches, except one, saw stalemates. The more interesting fact was that all the tie matches either finished goalless or stuck in a 1-1 margin. The only exception was the 3-2 match Mohammedan won in the first phase of Bangladesh Premier League in January.

Now, Dhaka Abahani and Bashundhara Kings will meet in the second semi-final on 14 May in Gopalganj. Whoever wins the match will get a ticket to face Mohammedan in the final. If Abahani wins it, the fans will be able to enjoy another Dhaka Derby. Otherwise, fans are still going to witness an exciting match.  

The final of the tournament is scheduled to be played on 21 May at the Rafiq Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh.