Both sides earned a place in semifinals of the UAE President?s Cup, where they are to face Al Shabab and Al Nasr, respectively
Brazilian Mauricio Oliveira “Mauricinho” and UAE National striker Ibrahim were the most outstanding names of the first stage of the UAE Beach Soccer President’s Cup. Both players scored six goals in the opening of the competition, to help their clubs Al Ahli and Fujairah proceed to the semifinals. Al Nasr and Al Shabab booked the other two spots in the last four stages of the competition with identical 3-2 wins over Al Wasl and Ittihad Kalba respectively.
Whereas the go-through by league champions Al Ahli was no big surprise, their spectacular scoring fiesta (13-6) turned the game into an amusing exhibition.
Fujairah’s success, in turn, came a bitter more unexpected, as they faced one of the competition’s favourites, league runner ups Ajman Club. The UAE international forward Moussa Ibrahim had much a say in this victory, as his six goals, two in each period of the match, became more than what Ajman Club could cope with. Despite they fought as fiercely as they could, even turning a 1-7 into a 6-7, the current league runner ups saw their options vanish in the third period, the one in which Fujairah sealed their ticket to semi-finals.
In the next round, to be played these next Friday and Saturday, Al Ahli will take on Al Shabab, while Fujairah will try to bend another of the favourites, Al Nasr.
The results so far and the schedule for the rest of the competition are:
Day 1 – 14th September
Match 1 – 3:30pm – Al Ahli 13-6 Arabii
Match 2 – 4:30pm – Khalba 2-3 Al Shabab
Day 2 – 15th September
Match 3 – 3:30pm – Ajman 6-9 Fujairah
Match 4 – 4:30pm – Al Nasr 3-2 Al Wasl
Day 3 – 21st September (Semi-final)
Match 5 – 3:30pm – Al Ahli vs Al Shabab
Match 6 – 4:30pm – Fujairah vs Al Nasr
Day 4 – 22nd September (Final)
Match 7 – 3:30pm – Loser Match 5 vs Loser Match 6
Match 8 – 4:30pm – Winner Match 5 vs Winner Match 6
