Semifinals in UAE league, defined

Al Ahli, Al Wasl, Al Nasr and Ajman become the best four, to fight for a place in the final this coming Friday

The 2013 edition of the UAE Beach Soccer league got to know its four semi-finalists this last weekend. Al Ahli, Al Wasl, Al Nasr and Ajman all will be on hand in next round to discern who travels to the final of the championship, to be played at Al Mamzar Beach Park.

After the results last week, defending champions Al Ahli will meet Al Wasl while Al Nasr will clash with Ajman in the semi-finals next Saturday.

In last weekend?s final qualifying matches, Al Ahli beat Al Shabab 5-4, Al Wasl squeezed past Ittihad Kalba 3-2 and Al Nasr hammered Fujairah 7-3 to confirm their spots in the knock-out stages of the competition.

Al Ahli, lead by Portuguese hero Madjer topped Group A after a 5-4 win over Al Shabab, while Ajman went second following their 5-0 win over bottom-placed Dibba Al Hisn.

In Group B, Al Wasl edged Ittihad Kalba (3-2), while Al Nasr remained at the head of the table after a 7-3 hammering of Fujairah Club.

Two goals by the Lusitanian maetro, plus the contributions of Belchior, Ahmad Hassan and Mohammad Salem got the defending champions squeezing past a combative al Shabab. Despite a 4-0 lead in second period, an amazing reaction by Al Shabab got the score 4-4, and only Madjer?s prowess unbalanced the score again to make it 5-4 and had the points fly to Al Ahli?s hands. 

Al Wasl, in turn, seemed to be leading an easy win after Saeed Yousuf and Butti Abdul Hussain netted in the second period. But Mohammad Abdullah and Tareq Ahmad restored parity for Ittihad Kalba. In the final period, Saeed Yousuf got his name on the scoresheet with the winner for the Al Zabeel side.

Ahmad Jaddah?s hat-trick, plus Lebanese star Fattal?s brace and the hits by Adil Ali Al Rahi and Hussain Ahmed got Al Nasr prevailing over Fujairah and getting amongst the best four. The three goals bagged Mousa Ebrahim were not enough for the visitors, who see themselves out of the next stage of the competition.

The semi-finals will now be played this upcoming Friday, March 2nd, with the  final and third-place play-off the following Saturday.

The UAE Beach Soccer League is organised by Dubai Sports Council under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.