Elita Kingsley blasted twice and set up another, as Chittagong Abahani Limited outplayed East Bengal of Kolkata 3-1 at the final yesterday to celebrate the inaugural trophy of the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup football tournament. In a hard fought and nerve shattering final at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong, Avinaba gave East Bengal an early lead. But Abahani’s Elita Kingsley, who won the man of the final, scored two successive goals and Hemanta Vincent added one to steer the hosts to win the title.  Elita Kingsley, who scored six goals in the tournament, also won the prize of the most valuable player and the highest scorer awards.  Both the sides started the match cautiously with East Bengal looking organised and disciplined right from the kick off and the home boys a bit nervous and bogged down under pressure.  It was Chittagong Abahani who produced the first chance to go ahead but Mithun Chowdhury wasted the opportunity when he headed an Elita Kingsley cross over the post being unmarked on the 10th minute. East Bengal built up a counter attack in the next minute down the right side and a good effort of Avinabo Bag from out the side box found the net after deflecting defender Reza’s head (1-0).
 Another threat was saved from goal-line by Abahani goalkeeper Atiqur Rahman Mishu when a dangerous looking header of Rafique on a corner of Avinaba was about to go into the net on the 29th minute. Chittagong Abahani, who were playing with long pass and counter attack strategy, saw their success when Jahid Hossain floated a long ball from the midfield for onrushing Mithun down the left side, who also set a good cross inside the danger area. Elita Kingsley beat an East Bengal defender  in pace to slam his header into near post to level the match  1-1 diromg the four minutes added time in the first half.   Inspired by the first half late equaliser, Chittagong Abahani appeared with a more aggressive attitude and produced some sharp attacks after the break. They eventually took the lead on the 54th minute through Kingsley, who showed some excellent skills.
This time, Mithun Chowdhury changed the direction of a Jahid free kick with a low header and the ball came to Elita Kingsley who again beat a defender, before hammering a thunderous left footer into the far post (2-1).  
The hosts became more hostile and also increased the lead to 3-1 jut three minutes later with Hemanta scoring the third with a spectacular header on an Elita Kingsley cross on the 57th minute.
With the blow of the final whistle, a 40,000  crowd of the MA Aziz Stadium celebrated the victory who had supported the home team right from the kick off. In fact, the victory celebration was going on throughout the country with cracking fireworks and distribution of sweets.
Right after the match, President Abdul Hamid congratulated the team for their winning the title. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who witnessed the final match on TV from her official residence Ganabhaban in the capital, and Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury also felicitated the team.
The prime minister announced Tk 1 lakh  bounty for each player of the winning team. She congratulated Chittagong Abahani immediately after winning the championship trophy.  In her reaction telecast live on different TV channels, she said the victory would boost up the county’s football and would encourage more people to play the game all over the country. She thanked all players and members of the team for making the nation proud.
 Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim, Dhaka Abahani Limited Chairman Salman F Rahman and BCB President Nazmul Hassan Papon, MP, were also present at Ganabhaban. Chittagong Abahani received $25,000 as prize money, while East Bengal, got $10,000.