Although the lacklustre final failed to enthrall a 10,000-strong crowd at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, it was a sweet revenge for Brothers who had lost the Independence Day Gold Cup final to Muktijoddha last month.

Muktijoddha drew early blood with Nigerian striker Paul Nwakwuchu getting possession inside the rival box even before the match was 30 seconds old. But he failed to utilise the defensive lapse as his shot from 15 yards ran harmlessly across the pitch.

Brothers settled in soon and Russian forward Victor tested Aminul with a long range shot in the fifth minute. Despite making a fine save, national number one custodian Aminul was outfoxed by Brothers' Moroccan striker Adil in the very next minute.

Adil, who got the nod in absence of compatriot midfielder Hicham Inani -- suspended for the game -- snatched the ball from Reds defender Belal at the right side and seeing Aminul out of his post, lobbed the goalkeeper outside from the box with his left foot to separate the two sides.

Brothers went on to dominate the rest of the half as striker Khokon, who was dropped to the midfield by veteran coach Wajed Gazi to mark Arman, successfully handcuffed the playmaker.

Enjoying superior ball possession, Brothers could further increase the lead but Adil failed to convert two chances created by Victor. Victor also burst through the rival backline three times after the break, but the prolific scorer failed to finish his solo moves.

Muktijoddha on the other hand, missed Arman in the entire second half as he was forced to leave the ground following a rough tackle by Jewel Rana on the brink of halftime. Moreover, coach Shafiqul Islam Manik unnecessarily kept the ineffective third forward Enamul on the pitch for over an hour which certainly dampened the Reds' game plans, if there were any.

When Enamul was replaced by Bidyut, the midfield looked better and pressed hard in the last ten minutes for an equaliser. Their first real chance came in the 81st minute, but Kanchan's powerful volley on a long throw-in by Belal was foiled for a corner by young custodian Tareq.

Muktijoddha had twin chances one minute before regulation time but Paul's effort was saved from the goalline while Tareq pulled off a spectacular save on Bidyut's rising shot on the rebound to ensure the Gopibagh outfit's third Federation Cup triumph.

As soon as the match ended Wajed Gazi kissed the ground to celebrate his happiest moment of a 25-year coaching career.

The 66-year-old, who led Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra to finish runners-up in the Dhaka Premier League last year on the club's debut, has had never won a domestic trophy at club level.

"Yes, this is the best moment in my long career as a coach. I am also happy because we have taken revenge of our defeat in the Independence Cup," said Gazi whose only previous trophy came in 1992 when he led Bangladesh Ansar to the Bangladesh Games football gold.

"Adil missed two open chances, otherwise, we could have won by a bigger margin," told the Brothers coach who also praised Tareq's performance under pressure in the last ten minutes.

When asked what really gave Brothers the edge, the former national winger admitted that his ploy to mark Arman with Khokon and stop the Muktijoddha midfielder's flowing passes was the key.

"My plan was not to let Arman play his natural game and I succeeded even though I had to sacrifice Khokon's striking ability doing that."

His counterpart Manik, whose boys even did not play attacking football after going down early, blamed poor refereeing.

"We have better referees in the country who can handle pressure. But the best referee was not on the field today," said Manik.

"The luck was not also with us today and we missed key players like Arman in the second half and injured Moni for the game."

Health and Family Welfare Minister Khondokar Mosharraf Hossain distributed trophies after the final. Brothers received Tk one lakh as prize money and Muktijoddha Tk 75,000.

Yellow cards: Jewel, Adil, Abul (Brothers) and Harry, Iqbal, Paul (Muktijoddha).

TEAMS
BROTHERS: Tareq, Siraji (67th minute), Sujan, Jewel, Masud Rana, Parvez Babu, Monwar (Shuvra, 89th), Khokon, Abul, Victor and Adil (Liton, 55th).

MUKTIJODDHA: Aminul, Harry, Rajani, Belal, Titu, Iqbal, Hassan Al Mamun, Kanchan, Arman (Saiful, 46th), Enamul (Biddyut, 67th minute) and Paul.

Referee: Ramkrishna Ghosh.