Mohammedan Sporting Club reached final of the Independence Cup football beating old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj Muslim and Friends Society by 1-0 goal in the first semifinal held at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Many Stadium in Gopalganj on Friday.

The Independence Cup tournament was once irregular in domestic football.

However, the federation has been organizing this competition regularly for the past few seasons. Mohammedan last won the tournament title in 2014. After nine years, the black and white Motijheel outfit fights again for the independence cup title.

The first half of the match saw attack and counter attack by both teams. After the barren first half, both the teams were desperate to break the deadlock in the second half.

Uzbek midfielder Muzaffar Muzaffarov finally broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute of the match. Just a few yards in front of the box, Rahmatganj’s defender illegally blocked Mohammedan’s forward and referee immediately ordered for a free-kick in favor of Mohammedan. Free-kick specialist Muzaffarov perfectly executed the goal giving no chance to Rahmatganj’s defenders and finally the goalkeeper.

Taking the lead, the black and white Motijheel outfit continued their onslaught but their foreign recruit forward deprived from their second goal in the 80th minute. Rahmatganj were also desperate to fight back in the match but could not score any in the remaining proceeding and eventually they had to leave the field with empty hand.

Mohammedan will play the final match against second semifinal winners either Abahani Limited Dhaka or Bashundhara Kings on Monday (Dec 18) at Bashundhara Kings arena in Dhaka.

Earlier, on way to the semifinal, Mohammedan Sporting Club edged past Chittagong Abahani Limited by a solitary goal. BSS