The sky-blues' first win in the professional league could have not tasted sweeter as it came against their archrivals after two goalless draws when skipper Joy put an end to their 223 minutes without scoring with a glancing header at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The shaven-headed holding midfielder's indefatigable performance under sweltering heat was not only better than his teammates but also earned him a deserved goal when he shrugged off his markers on the edge of the seven-yard box to nod home a low corner by Ujjal from the left.

Mohammedan's Nigerian defender Peter Odafe's effort to stop the ball on the line at the near post went down the drains as the 44th minute strike ensured their second successive defeat in four games. The black and whites stuck to four points but second-from-bottom Abahani moved up with five points from three games.

While the celebrations went on, Mohammedan captain Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib left the ground in tears in the first-half injury time after his last appearance in a competitive football match.

The successful striker, one of three local players to have scored more than 100 goals in the Dhaka League, bid football goodbye after an illustrious 18-year career. Famous for his headwork, Nakib -- almost hidden in flowers -- was given a rousing farewell by ex-players and football officials from all corners after Joy had escorted him out of the field. His last goal -- number 107 in Dhaka league -- came in the second round of the ongoing competition in Mohammedan's 1-1 draw against Sheikh Russel on March 13. The Mohammedan number 10, however, had little effect on the game before being replaced by Farhad.

After an equal sharing of the ball in the first 15 minutes in front of a poor 10,000 holiday crowd, Abahani who were virtually playing in a 4-3-3 formation, began to reveal their real strength with Argentine forward Hector Parodi's lively moves.

Ujjal was equally brilliant and set Parodi with a square pass in the 16th minute but the Argentine's low drive was kept out by black and whites goalkeeper Himel for a corner.

They wasted two corners before Ghanaian forward Ibrahim sent Parodi racing into the box but the latter fired wide from a difficult angle in the 21st minute. Two minutes later, Ujjal almost broke the deadlock with a spectacular sidevolley after a throw-in but his powerful right-footer deflected off a rival defender for corner.

The home side, who fielded four Nigerians, tried to rebuild and won a series of corners but hardly made any impact on a tight Abahani backline led by Argentine central defender Mariano Caporale, who was excellent in aerial challenges.

In the second half, Mohammedan could not raise their game enough to create chances but Zahid and Divine's long-range efforts forced fine saves by Biplab, the Abahani goalkeeper who had a quiet first half.

Parodi put another early chance wide before Abahani's Argentine coach Diego Cruciani pulled off all three foreigners -- two for tiring out and Caporale due to an old foot injury -- in a bid to concentrate on holding onto the slim lead.

The two giants failed to please their fans in the rest of the game and showed lack of pace while trying to be more technical but Shafiqul Islam Manik's side, otherwise handcuffed by a more defensive second-half Abahani, came close to snatch a late equaliser. However, the efforts of two overlapping defenders were not enough in the dying seconds as Arif's header went just wide after Kamal had chipped the ball from the right.

Yellow cards: Joy, Abul (Abahani), Paul (Mohammedan)

TEAMS
Abahani: Biplab, Siraji, Nazrul, Caporale (Pradip, 78th minute), Waly, Ujjal, Joy, Abul, Ibrahim (Pranotosh, 65th), Emily and Parodi (Zahid 60th).

Mohammedan: Himel, Arif, Odafe, Rezaul, Zahid (Asad, 89th), Kamal, Divine, Mithu (Sharif, 58th), Francis, Paul and Nakib (Farhad, 45th).

Referee: Tayab Hassan.