Dubai

Al Jawareh, Al Taher and MKS all opened with close wins on the first day of the futsal at the Fifth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament being held at the Nas Sports Complex.

Al Jawareh scored once in each half for a hard-fought 2-0 win, while Al Taher warded off The Storm to win 8-7 and MKS secured a shocking 3-2 result against fancied Al Zajel in the last match of the night.

In the first match, Brazilian Diego Alexandre Favero gave Al Jawareh the lead after just three minutes, while Italian Saad Assis found the net in the final minute to pick up full points. “Winning the first one always gives the team a lot of confidence. It was important to start with full points and brighten our chances of a spot in the knockout stages,” Rashid Obaid said.

“We were up against a strong team and that makes the three points even dearer,” the Al Shabab player added.

In the second match, Al Taher led 4-2 at half-time for a tough 8-7 win against The Storm. It was Laith Luay and Mohammad Obaid giving Al Taher an early 2-0 lead. Hamad Al Goul pulled one back for The Storm only to see Alejandro Luque score the first of his two goals and make it 3-1 in favour of Al Taher. Andre Gaspar Da Silva Gomes then tapped in from close as The Storm trailed 2-3, but Deives Moraes prodded home to make it 4-2 at half-time.

In the second period, every time Al Taher threatened to break away The Storm managed to stay in the game. Luque scored two on the trot to draw level 4-4 only to see Moraes and Caio Cesar Rego pull away 6-4. Once again The Storm responded with Mohammad Al Mazroui and Al Goul tapping in only to see Al Taher maintain their two-goal cushion with quick goals from Moraes and Mohammad Obaid.

“It was very important to start with full points,” Al Taher’s Brazilian striker Fernando Nascimento Cosme said.

“When there are just three teams in the group it is important to start strong so that we can play easy in the second match and move into the knockouts,” skipper and man of the match Mohammad Obaid Ali added.

Meanwhile, a strong Al Zajel caved in 2-3 against MKS in an entertaining Group C match later in the night. MKS played as a unit with Brazilian Igor Raphael Sousa opening the score in the 12th minute only to see fellow Brazilian Edelson Robson Dos Santos [Robinho] draw level for Al Zajel before half-time.

The favourites took the lead through Andre Thiago Grahl in the 12th minute of the second half only to see Sousa make it 2-2. With 9.22 minutes remaining on the clock MKS were awarded a penalty that Douglas Junior Da Silva converted and then fell back on defending their lead till the end for a well-deserved win against one of the tournament favourites.

Meanwhile, the SHM Team eased into the semi-final of the padel teams’ competition with an easy 2-0 result against the Lokoos.com Team to set a last four meeting with Valencia.

And in the Open competition, Benjamin Cassaigne and Xavier Masson qualified to the semi-finals behind Group A leaders and defending champions Sandy Farquharson and Javier Lopez. Cassaigne and Masson won 6-1, 6-2 against Ignacio Valenzuela and Juan De Dios and will now await the winners from Group B. Carlos Luna teamed up with Mohammad Al Janahi to secure a consolation 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 win over Mohammad Ahli and Abdullah Ahli.

RESULTS

(Futsal)

Al Jawareh bt Quattro Sports Centre 2-0

Al Taher bt The Storm 8-7

MKS bt Al Zajel 3-2

Padel

(Teams) SHM Team def Lokoos.com Team 2-0

(Open) Benjamin Cassaigne/Xavier Masson def Ignacio Valenzuela/Juna De Dios 6-1, 6-2; Carlos Luna/Mohammad Al Janahi def Mohammad Ahli/Abdullah Ahli 3-6, 7-5, 7-6.