Fresh from their 5-0 demolition of Khulna Abahani in the previous round's away match, Syed Nayeemuddin's struggling side increased their collection to 22 points after 13 games, thanks to second half strikes by Monwar Hossain, Elijah Junior and Mehdi Hassan Tapu.

Brothers, who have played one match less than current leaders and fellow Dhaka giants Mohammedan, have a four-point deficit to cover and seriously return to one of the tightest title races ever in domestic leagues.

Arambagh are fourth from bottom with 16 points after 14 outings.

The Oranges, who beat Arambagh 3-1 in their first leg meeting, however, had a tough first half at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

In an even first 45 minutes, both the sides won a few freekicks but failed to really test the rival goalkeepers.

Arambagh, without top scorer Nicodemus, hardly looked convincing but the first real chance fell to Nurul Islam seven minutes after the break. Brothers goalie Mohammed Ali hesitated to go for a teasing cross by Sharif and gifted the ball to Nurul, who screwed his shot wide despite having an open net.

A similar mistake by Mitul under the Arambagh bar cost the side dearly in the 56th minute as Brothers midfielder Monwar opened the scoring with what looked like a harmless centre from the right. Mitul was under pressure from Tapu but the onrushing goalkeeper made mess of an easily catchable ball, palming it into his near post.

Inspired by the fluke goal, the Gopibagh outfit doubled the lead two minutes later when Rony's chip from the mid-pitch picked substitute Tapu, whose overhead shot gave an advancing Mitul no chance.

An error by Brothers seasoned centre-back Jewel Rana threw a lifeline to the opposition when his backheader unsettled Mohammed Ali but Nurul Islam once again fluffed the comeback chance by failing to keep his effort under the bar.

Junior then joined fellow Nigerian striker Paul of Moha-mmedan as joint-top scorer with 13 goals in the 72nd minute. Junior, who has scored two hattricks in the league so far, met a defence splitting through pass by veteran Masud Rana inside the box and put an angular shot past substitute keeper Sainik to seal the victory.