The Black and Whites came from a goal down to overcome Youngmen's Club Fakirerpool 3-1 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday but not before some nervous moments.

Second-from-bottom Young-men's, down to ten men after 41 minutes, stunned their mighty opponents when Rajan broke the deadlock in the 56th minute.

But a brace from skipper Alfaz after Manju's equaliser helped Mohammedan secure their sixth victory in eight matches.

With one round to go in the first-leg of the league, Mohammedan (20 points) have a one-point lead over second-placed Brothers while Youngmen's collection is a miserable four after their sixth loss.

Coming off a 12-day break after their previous match, Mohamme-dan appeared rusty in the fist half. The only team in the ten-team fray without a foreign player, Young-men's troubled the rival defence but the inexperience of Rajan, Robin and Chanchal saw them waste good opportunities.

The only notable move for Mohammedan came five minutes from the break when defender Mintu, playing in the midfield, got a free run at the left side of the box but shot the ball straight to goalkeeper Shiplu.

Just a minute later, Youngmen's defender Saikat was sent-off after receiving his second yellow card of the match.

Undaunted by the loss, Youngmen's bombarded the rival fort in the early minutes of the second half but a couple of long range efforts by Ariful and Baten were held well by Biplab under the Moha-mmedan bar.

So pathetic was Mohammedan's form at this stage that their fans began to boo. Rajan then headed in a Baten cross to put the minnows ahead.

That goal ignited Mohammedan and they needed only two minutes to equalise when Manju pounced home a low cross by Mintu from the left. Skipper Alfaz, who returned to the side after missing three matches through injury, made it 2-1 on the hour when he had all the time in the world to blast a volley into the roof of the net from the edge of the box after a Youngmen's defender had half-cleared the ball.

Mohammedan sealed victory in the 63rd minute when Alfaz, again completely unmarked inside the area, put a first-time right-footer past Shiplu after receiving a long pass from right fullback Kamal. It was the veteran striker's fourth goal in the league.

Red card: Saikat (Youngmen's)

Yellow card: Kamal (Mohammedan)

TEAMS
MOHAMMEDAN: Biplab, Kamal, Nazrul, Papel (Khokon), Kaiser (Faisal), Peter, Munna, Asad, Mintu, Alfaz (Nakib) and Manju.

YOUNGMEN'S: Shiplu, Mamun, Ariful, Saikat, Shipon, Monaem, Baten, Chanchal, Rajan (Ripon), Masud (Nayan) and Robin (Rony).

Referee: Azad Rahman.