Dhaka Mariners keep the title intact in club cup hockey. They defeated Abahani 2-0 in the final held at Maulana Bhasani Stadium. This is their second title in the Club Cup.
The final match was rescheduled to 5 pm. After about fifteen minutes the game started. Abahani made several attacks in the first quarter of the match.
The most talked about incident of the match happened in the second quarter. The Mariners took the lead five minutes into the half. Indian player Deepak scored a field goal on a reverse hit in the box in an attack from the left side. After seven minutes, the game was stopped for fifteen minutes due to a dispute over a penalty corner.
The match between the two big domestic hockey teams means protests and counter-protests about the umpire’s decision. In the 12th minute of the second quarter, trouble started with a penalty corner. The umpire awards a penalty corner in favor of Abahani. The Mariners marched into the tent protesting the umpire’s decision. The general secretary of the federation and the secretary of the league committee entered the field and tried to control the situation. The TV umpire reviewed the review and confirmed the penalty corner. Still, the Mariners continued to protest. After a while, the Mariners accepted a penalty corner and started playing. However, Abahani could not do much with that penalty corner.
The Mariners doubled the lead in the third quarter. Mariners get a penalty corner in the last minute. The Mariners earned a penalty stroke from that corner. Captain Fazle Hossain Rabbi scored the goal.
Abahani tried to get back into the match in the last quarter. Abahani got two penalty corners in this quarter but could not close the gap. In addition to four Indian players, there were many members of the Bangladesh national team. Especially domestic star player Ashraful Islam was not seen like that on the turf. On the other hand, the Mariners played controlled hockey with a relatively ordinary team and won two effective goals. The Mariners won the Club Cup tournament for the first time after defeating Abahani 3-0 in the 2021 final.
Mariners captain Fazle Hussain Rabi won the best player award in the Club Cup hockey final. Abahani’s defender Ashraful Islam became the best of the tournament.
Air Chief Marshal Sheikh Abdul Hannan, President of Bangladesh Hockey Federation and Chief of Air Force, presented trophies and medals to the champion and runner-up teams as the chief guest. At that time, Hockey Federation General Secretary AKM Mominul Haque Saeed, Tournament Committee Secretary Khawaja Taher Latif Munna, Federation Joint Secretary Mahbubul Ehsan Rana and others were present.
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