THIS ONE IS SPECIAL: Abahani striker Zahid Hassan Emily (L) takes a decisive side-footed shot past an advancing Brothers goalkeeper Zia (not in picture) for his second and the winning goal of a thrilling Citycell Super Cup semifinal first-leg at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Abahani won the match 3-2. Photo: Anisur Rahman

Zahid Hassan Emily struck twice inside two minutes to keep Abahani's Tk 1-crore Super Cup dream alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over Brothers Union in the first-leg of the first semifinal yesterday.
Having produced numerous memorable matches in the past, the two local giants produced yet another classic at the Bangabandhu National Stadium to give a 10,000-strong crowd full satisfaction.
Although a few poor decisions by the referee and his assistants marred the beauty of the game, it never failed to entertain the fans who were on the edge throughout the 90 minutes.
In a seesaw battle, Abahani took early lead through a sublime overhead strike by Ghanaian forward Awudu Ibrahim but Wasim Iqbal's side were 2-1 up by the hour with goals either side of halftime by Henry Quaye and Shakil Ahmed.
Abahani's evening, however, was ruined when Ibrahim received his third yellow card of the competition to miss the return-leg semifinal.
Brothers looked interested to hold onto the slim lead and went on the defensive, a mistake that inspired the B. League champions to hit back with Emily's efficiency converted into two poacher's goal in the 79 and 81 minutes.
Brothers, who had given up a 2-0 lead to lose by same margin in the crucial 1985 Premier League match against the same oppositions, will get the opportunity to correct their mistakes when the two sides meet in the second-leg semifinal on March 23 at the same venue.
The Sky Blues began brightly but Nigerian midfielder Emeka's sixth minute goal was disallowed for a foul by Ibrahim, who had forced his way into the rival area dashing four defenders before getting a rebound of goalkeeper Zia.
By far the best player of the first half, Ibrahim then stunned the Oranges with a spectacular goal in the 15th minute. Emily showed superb skill during a counter attack to chip the ball from their own area to Ibrahim, who headed the ball to go beyond his marker Ariful, saw the goalkeeper out of his position, and slammed a first-time right-footed volley from 40 yards into the far corner from a tight angle.
Referee Tayeb Hasan ignored a handball by Abahani fullback Waly Faisal in the area three minutes later as the Brothers booters pressed for a penalty.
Oranges captain Shuvra was cautioned for his illegal actions against the match official as the game resumed after four minutes.
Amalesh Sen's side did well to cut the Brothers passes in the midfield and defence but Zahid tormented the Abahani defence with his jinking runs at the right flank.
The speedy winger mounted heavy pressure and forced a half-hearted save by Abahani goalie Biplab from a freekick in the 38th minute. Mishu collected the rebound but he was unfortunate to see a goal bound shot deflect for a corner.
Ghanaian striker Henry came alive during the flagkick but failed to keep his header under the bar before Abahani were denied off a penalty on the break.
Ibrahim set Emily with a through but the national striker was felled by Ariful -- the last man in the line -- from behind just inside the area.
Brothers finally got the reward for their superior ball possession towards the end of the half when Henry pounced home from seven yards after Zahid's powerful shot from 20 yards was kept away by Biplab's one-handed save in the 43rd minute.
Biplab held onto a close-range header by Tapu after resumption but Abahani skipper Nazrul's delay in clearing a long pass by Brothers midfielder Rikto allowed Shakil to get inside the box and drill a left-footer into the back of the net on the hour, giving Abahani's national custodian no chance to react.
Even during corners, Brothers had two men up front and Abahani regrouped with three quick changes by Amalesh to break though the rival defensive shell.
Waly Faisal floated a long freekick from the left over the rival backline and Emily, unmarked at the far post, nodded home to make it 2-2.
Two minutes later, the impressive striker latched onto an overhead pass by Ibrahim and sidefooted the ball past Zia into the far corner to spark wild celebrations at the Abahani stands. It was Emily's third goal in the meet after scoring the winner in yet another come-from-behind 2-1 win over Chittagong Mohammedan in the group stage.
Yellow Cards: Ibrahim, Emeka, Emily (Abahani) and Shuvra (Brothers)
TEAMS
ABAHANI: Biplab, Nazrul (Siraji 68th), Sujan, Samad, Waly, Abul (Zahed, 55th), Joy (Pranotosh, 57th), Emeka, Mamun, Ibrahim and Emily.
BROTHERS: Zia, Ariful, Shuvra, Mishu, Liton (Rony, 72nd), Zahid, Matiur Munna, Rikto, Shakil, Henry and Tapu.