Major boost for Maziya

Maziya received a major boost in their hunt for a knockout stage berth after they clinched yet another massive victory at home against Abahani Limited Dhaka in the Group E game played this afternoon. Maziya won the game by 2-0 against bottom side, Abahani.

Meanwhile, the other game of this group ended in favor of Maziya as well, as Bengaluru FC were defeated 3-1 by Mohun Bagan. That means, Maziya need to claim a point from their remaining game to confirm the knockout stage berth in the AFC Cup 2017.

Mohamed Umair opened the scoring for the Green boys with a brilliant free-kick from the distance. Alexandar Rakic secured all three points in the last five minutes of the game with a strike from outside the box.

During the opening half, neither of the team created any clear-cut chances and failed to clearly test the goal keepers at both ends as the half ended goalless.
In the 13th minute, a decent chance fell to Asadhulla Abdulla when he hits the side netting from a very tight angle just inside the box after receiving a cross from Samooh.

Four minutes before half hour mark, Rakic fired his free-kick straight into the gloves of Abahani Keeper Shahidhul Alam.

Right after the break, Yeasin Khan and Emeka Onijuha headed wide and over the bar in space of few minutes.

Just before hour mark, Maziya broke the deadlock with a superb free-kick from Umair. He fired this stunning shot from the distance just few yards near the touchline.

In the 83rd minute, Rakic nearly doubled their lead when his shot from outside the box hits the bar then the rebounded ball fell to Hussain Niyaz, who missed a sitter as Abahani Keeper Shahidul Alam blocked his shot from close range.

Then, two minutes later, Maziya produced the killer blow through Rakic when he collected the rebounded ball from the Abahani Keeper Shaidul Alam, as he tried to blocked the shot from Hussain Niyaz. Rakic made no mistake this time, as he guided the ball into the bottom corner of the net with the winner.

Maziya climbed up to first place after this victory, as they now have 12 points from 5 games in Group E. Bengaluru FC are in second place with 9 points from 5 games.

Maziya play their final game of the group stage against Bengaluru FC on 31st May 2017 at Bengaluru.

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