Mohammedan walked into Cumilla under a cloud of unpaid wages, internal frustration, and whispers that the players might not even take the pitch. They still showed up, they fought, and they left with a draw at Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium on Tuesday that keeps them top of the group. It was messy, nervy, imperfect football, but it kept them where it matters.
In the other match Bangladesh Police FC left the pitch with a 1-0 win over Arambagh Krira Shangha at Bashundhara Kings Arena. Paulo Santos De Azevedo scored the winning goal on 79th minute to seal the win for Police FC.
Fortis started sharper and hit Mohammedan with wave after wave of early pressure. The white-and-blacks looked flat, disconnected, and far from a side playing for the summit. Fortis found joy down the flanks, broke through a shaky defensive line and deservedly took the lead when Okafor reacted quickest inside the box after Sakib Al Hasan pulled off two brilliant saves. Mohammedan chased shadows. Fortis controlled the half. You could almost feel the tension rising from the Mohammedan bench.
But football rarely sticks to the script, especially when a club sits on the edge of a crisis. Mohammedan came back out with more purpose. They pushed Fortis deeper, stretched their full-backs and kept asking questions with long diagonals. Boateng carried most of the threat. He bullied defenders, made smart runs and forced Sujon Pereira into two big stops. Even then, he looked as frustrated as anyone when he nodded a gilt-edged chance wide with five minutes to go.
And then he buried the next one. A sharp run, a clean strike, and a roar from a team that badly needed something to believe in. Mohammedan didn’t dominate the game, but they refused to roll over. They defended bravely, they countered with heart, and they refused to let the table slip away.
The draw won’t fix their wage problems, their off-field uncertainty, or their recent league defeat to Fakirerpool. But it gives them something priceless: control of the group. In weeks like this, staying top means more than any pretty passing move or tidy tactical plan.
