Mohammad Nabib Ziban, Kervens Belfort and Sunday Chizoba were among the five different players to find the back of the net for the rampant Abahani Limited, who took their tally to 10 points from five matches in the competition.
The result means Abahani Limited will only need to equal Chennaiyin’s result in the group’s final Matchday – to be staged next Wednesday – to move into the knockout stage as group winners, while Manang Marshyangdi’s elimination is now confirmed.
A flurry of early shots on goal established Abahani Limited’s control almost instantly and they took just 11 minutes to open the scoring, with Mohammad Nabib Ziban showing terrific skill to dribble into the box before easily beating goalkeeper Bishal Shrestha.
The Bangladeshi outfit’s confidence grew further, with Ziban, Belfort and Chizoba taking turns in getting into promising attacking positions as Abahani Limited racked up 16 shots at goal to one in a dominant first half.
It was one of the last shots of the period that doubled their advantage, as Belfort’s low effort beat Shrestha to complete a wonderful solo goal which had begun with the Haitian international taking possession of the ball on the half-way line.
Belfort and company picked up from where they left off after the break, causing constant problems from the Manang Marshyangdi defence, but the Nepalese club appeared determined to prevent the match from ending in a blowout.
Despite their best efforts, Abahani Limited added a third when the Ranas – Sohel and Jewel – combined with Jewel finishing off Sohel’s pass in the 63rd minute, before Chizoba added a well-deserved goal 12 minutes later.
A late fifth – converted in injury time by Mamanul Islam – rounded out the scoring for the hosts, who will seal their progression with a similar performance against Minerva Punjab next week.
