Abahani Limited Dhaka bounced back to form with a convincing 4–2 victory over Fakirerpool Youngmen’s Club in their opening Federation Cup match at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Friday.

After a disappointing start to the league campaign — with one draw and one loss — the Sky Blues looked sharp and dominant this time. The night belonged to Shekh Morsalin and Souleymane Diabate, who both struck twice to give Abahani a perfect start in the tournament.

Diabaté opened the scoring in the 6th minute from the penalty spot and doubled the lead by converting another penalty later in the first half. In between, Morsalin joined the act, finishing off a neat team move after receiving a return pass from Diabaté to make it 3–0 before halftime.

Fakirerpool showed resilience after the break, pulling one back through Shanto Tuddu, who cleverly chipped over goalkeeper Pritom. They nearly scored again when Ben Ibrahim’s cross narrowly missed Khalek’s touch.

Abahani quickly restored control as Morsalin netted his second in the 64th minute with a precise low shot from the edge of the box. Fakirerpool’s Riyad added another in the 70th minute, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback.

Morsalin came close to completing a hat-trick late on, but Fakirerpool keeper Saju denied him twice with superb saves.

In the day’s other fixture, Brothers Union and Rahmatganj MFS played out a goalless draw in Cumilla.

The Federation Cup will now take a month-long break and resume on December 2.