Incidentally it was Muktijoddha defender Belal Ahmed who was in the thick of things to break Mohammedan hearts with his trademark long throw. Belal made a name for himself when he successfully used this weapon against the same team in a Premier League encounter last season.

The stout stopper with strong arms hurled the ball like guided missiles to set up both the second-half goals for the Reds in the space of four minutes.

Mohammedan custodian Taerq managed to fist the first throw away but only to the path of a lurking Ajmal Hossain Biddyut who wasted no time to bang in a superb volley that rocketed into the roof of the net giving Muktijoddha the lead in the 58th minute.

Belal's second set piece after four minutes brushed off Tareq's outstretched gloves allowing Kanchan to outjump two tall Mohammedan defenders and nod the ball home.

Farhad reduced the arrears deep inside the injury time for the Black and Whites when he toe-poked a lob by Kaiser over Aminul's head but by then the damage had already been done.

The victory put Muktijoddha at the top of the six-team table along with Abahani both having seven points after their first matches. Both teams have carried four bonus points from the first round.

Mohammedan on the other hand are left with it all to do as they have only two bonus points in the bank. The popular Motijheel outfit now face a massive task of winning their next two games including the big match against their bitter rivals Abahani to stand a chance of reaching the semifinals.

Although Mohammedan dictated terms in a match surprising watched by only a few hundred fans, it was Muktijoddha's ploy of packing the defence and hitting on the break that ultimately proved decisive.

Mohammedan started the game at a brisk pace and should have taken the lead just after kick off. But their ageless worrier Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib made a feeble effort at the goal that hardly troubled Muktijoddha and country's number one goalkeeper Aminul.

Farhad's flit-footed moves kept the Reds' three-man central defence guessing when the diminutive forward invaded the box three times inside the next five minutes but the finishing was wayward.

Muktijoddha's only chance in the half came in the 27th minute when captain Matiur Munna lobbed the ball from the left but Rwandan forward Kabua failed to connect the ball which ran harmlessly across the barren post.

The tremendous August-heat began to take its toll on the booters and Nakib's tired legs failed to capitalise on a defence lapse in the first half stoppage time as Aminul rushed out of his cage to snatch the ball from the striker's possession in a one-to-one situation.

Muktijoddha began to press hard after the break and Kanchan tested Mohammedan custodian Tareq with a long range shot in the 55th minute.

Three minutes later, man-of-the-match Biddyut broke the deadlock when the midfielder fired that spectacular volley into the roof of the net.

The Red fans were still cheering when Kanchan scored the second and decisive goal courtesy another Belal long throw.

Yellow card: Kabua (Muktijoddha).

TEAMS
Muktijoddha: Aminul, Papel, Hassan Al Mamun, Pradeep, Ghansah, Saiful, Munna, Biddyut, Belal (Deen Mohammed, 68th minute), Kabua and Kanchan.
Mohammedan: tareq, Jahirul, Jewel Rana (Shuvra, 87th), Rony, Kaiser, Pappu, Sentu, Manju, 59th), Faisal Mahmud (Amin Rana, 74th), Farhad and Nakib.
Referee: Mansoor Azad.