Despite a spirited showing in the second half, The Daily Star bowed out from the Kool-BSJA Media Cup Round of 16 following a 2-1 defeat in an ill-tempered clash against The Business Standard at the BFF Artificial Turf today.

Having regrouped after an incohesive first half that saw DS digest two goals, the players of the country's leading English daily showed grit, character, and aggression -- coming mostly from their skipper Samama Rahman, who was also shown a yellow card -- to score one back and mar TBS' desperate hopes of keeping a clean sheet.

Just when TBS players, who were largely held to their own half in the final 10 minutes of the 20-minute game, were defending with their bodies and shouting in desperation to keep DS at bay, Nabid Yeasin earned and scored a penalty in CR7-like fashion -- burying it in the top left bin with a shot so powerful that had rendered TBS goalkeeper motionless, reducing him to a mere spectator.

Nabid's face-saving act, however, might as well not have materialised had that explosive pass from experienced centre-back Fazlur Rahman at the very beginning of the game hit DS' only goal-scorer below the belt any harder.

Tempers flared when the opener was allowed even after a second ball rolled into the playing area from the match going on in the adjacent field. Despite justified protest from the usually calm and collected DS players, the referee allowed the goal and later clarified his decision by saying that the second ball "could not have caused any lapse of concentration" of DS players as it was "not interfering with the play".

DS would go on to concede another goal in the first half as skipper Samama's threshold for keeping a cool head had been reached. Complaining of his beer-bellied teammates' inability and the handful of other barely-fit compatriots' nonchalance in matching his standard -- a quality, however, not measured taking into account his serial reluctance in reaching the field on time and a penchant for leaving his jersey at home -- Samama refused to start the second half. He eventually did, after some bellyaching and his teammates' ever-so-slight request.

Samama's genius of forgetting to bring the jersey was telepathically carried over to Sabbir Hossain, who also did the same and enjoyed the entire match from the sidelines sporting jeans, t-shirt, and flip-flops despite being persistent on having his name written in the team sheet (Experts are still trying to figure out why he was so adamant on having his name on the team sheet).  

With DS needing to stage a comeback as they did in their 3-1 win against Channel 24, young defender Shabab Chowdhury decided to step up and make up for pulling off a stunning no-show in their opener the day before. His composed ball-playing ability in the defence gave DS some confidence as Samama moved up in the midfield to pull the strings with Khalid Hossain, who had been somewhat quiet since he pulled off a mesmerising reverse nutmeg, reminiscent of Ronaldinho's glory days, on a TBS defender at the very beginning of the game.

TBS retreated but DS were still unable to break through. Agitated with the decisions that went against DS in the first half, things soon got heated in the middle with defender Orchid Chakma deciding to up the ante, Samama brave-heartedly becoming more vocal to the point of even demanding the referee to book him in a classic example of causing self-harm, and forward Mazhar Uddin no longer in any mood to stay quiet and bear the brunt of the innumerable tackles on him and his teammates.

As DS pressed higher, Mazhar, man of the match of the previous game for a brace, played a few passes upfront and a lay-off to Nabid that resulted in the latter unleashing a shot into the TBS defence and earning a penalty after it had hit one of the defenders' hands.

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DS shake off nerves in opener

That's all there was from Mazhar in this game. He was the last of all to arrive on the field and would go on to be the first to leave as well, complaining of acid reflux.  

Meanwhile, in the final action on the field, Nabid, with his mind unable to stop the flashbacks of him missing a sitter that was the best chance for DS in the first half, walked up to the spot and converted calmly as cheers filled with last-gasp hopes blared from the sidelines.

Only a minute till full-time meant DS had to stay content with the outcome and follow the never-to-be-acted-upon ritual of promising to "practise at least bi-monthly till the beginning of the next BSJA tournament". This time, the brilliant idea was floated around by goalkeeper Ahsan Habib, whose decent saves in the game were not nearly enough to have his blushes saved as he succumbed to the most typical post-knock-out adrenaline rush.