Dubai: Al Joker successfully defended their futsal title with a hard-fought 3-1 win over debutants Al Habtoor at the Fourth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament here late on Tuesday.
Winners for the first time last year, with a 4-1 result against Fohood Jumeirah, Al Joker’s win was ensured by former world player of the year, Miguel Sayago Marti (Miguelin) who scored twice after Brazilian Edelson Robson Dos Santos (Robinho) had opened the team’s account.
Leonardo Mendonca Da Rocha had kept the fight alive after bringing the two teams on level terms with an equaliser to cancel out Robinho’s goal early in the first half.
Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) was joined by Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), former Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos and Hassan Al Mazroui, Tournament Director in handing the trophies and medals to players after the final.
“Considering that both teams were tired, we had decided that we would stay focused on all aspects of the game, be it defence or attack. That really was the one factor that decided the match ultimately,” Miguelin told Gulf News after picking up the best player of the tournament as well.
“We were complete as a team and it was very important that we win this one for our owner [Ahmad Jaber] and be the only team to successfully defend their title in this tournament,” the Spaniard added.
Brazilian Dovenir Domingues De Paiva, who played his heart out for Al Habtoor admitted that the second half was the toughest for his team.
“This has been a tough schedule for all teams. We simply did not have enough left in us for the second half. Three tough games in three days is a very punishing schedule,” De Paiva said.
“Hopefully, we will be here again next year and we can go one step further,” he added.
Earlier, YLS-1 made a memorable debut by picking up the third place in the tournament. Led by Gelson Saiotti Junior, the highest scorer of the competition with 19 goals, YLS-1 scored an entertaining 7-3 win against Fohood Jumeirah before the final match of the competition.
YLS-1 led 3-0 going into the half-time break with Junior finding the net twice while Russian Ivan Chishkala added one.
It was early in the second half that Jefferson Luis Correa brought the match alive as he pulled one back for Fohood Jumeirah. Though YLS-1 was in the lead, the match remained close with Fohood Jumeirah threatening to break away. It was this juncture that Junior completed his hat-trick, only for Fohood Jumeirah to score their second.
However, in the last five minutes YLS-1 started finding gaps in the Fohood Jumeirah defence, and it was Junior making merry with two quick goals that ended the opponents’ fight.
Results
Final: Al Joker x Al Habtoor 3-1
Third place: YLS-1 x Fohood Jumeirah 7-3
Awards
Best player: Miguel Sayago Marti (Miguelin) [Al Joker]
Top-scorer: Gelusio Saiotti Junior (YLS-1) 19 goals [YLS-1]
Player of the final: Edelson Robson Dos Santos [Al Joker]
Best goalkeeper: Jaber Al Ali [Al Joker]
Top scorers
Gelusio Saiotti Junior (YLS-1) 19
Miguel Sayago Marti (Al Joker) 12
Dovenir Domingues De Paiva (Al Habtoor) 11
Jefferson Luis Correa (Fohood Jumeirah) 10
*A total of 259 goals were scored during the tournament.
