Kings end memorable debut season with draw

Bashundhara Kings concluded their memorable debut season in the Bangladesh Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Chittagong Abahani Limited at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka Saturday.

This was the Kings’ only third draw this season in the league with the other two coming against Team BJMC and Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited.

In what was a dominant league performance throughout the season, the Kings lost only once, against Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra, and finished with 63 points from 24 matches.

Second placed Abahani Limited fell five points short of the Kings.

The Kings had beaten the port city outfit 3-0 in the first phase but had to be satisfied with a share of the spoils Saturday.

The former Celta youth player recently guided Bashundhara Kings to the Bangladesh Premier League title in his debut season in Bangladesh with two games in hand.https://t.co/Z8WA4TYvbM#FOOTBALL #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #BFF #BPL #BASHUNDHARA #KINGS #BASHUNDHARAKINGS

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 2, 2019

The Kings got their first opportunity in the 14th minute but Daniel Colindres was denied.

The Kings though did not take long to take the lead as they went ahead just three minutes later when Marcos de Silva got the better of opposition defender Mufta Lawal and the goalkeeper.

Chittagong Abahani could have brought parity in the 18th minute but were left frustrated as Monayem Khan Raju’s shot struck the post.

The port city outfit finally equalized at the end of the first half through a penalty from Kyrgyzstan forward Daniel Neil Armah after goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico fouled Kingsley Chigozie.

The Kings were desperate to end their campaign with a victory but were thwarted by Chittagong Abahani.

Angel Luiz was kind enough to give an interview to @DhakaTribune Tuesday as he informed that he works mainly in Asia, and provided players to 17 countries in this region.https://t.co/NMO4TsQpKq#FOOTBALL #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #BFF #ANGELLUIZ #LUIZ #ANGEL #KINGS #DT

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 1, 2019

Colindres came closest in the 66th minute when his shot missed the crossbar by a whisker.

Chittagong Abahani ended at eighth position with 25 points, leapfrogging Mohammedan at ninth.

Newcomer Nofel Sporting Club and BJMC were relegated to the Bangladesh Championship League after finishing second-from-bottom and bottom respectively.

Nofel and BJMC, having played 24 games each, finished with lowly 20 and 11 points respectively.