Dubai: Ahmad Abdullah conceded a last-minute own goal as Al Bahri stunned defending champions Al Taher as the futsal competition got underway at the sixth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Tournament at the Nas Sports Complex, late on Sunday.
Headed towards a certain 1-1 draw, Abdullah tried to intervene a goal-bound shot and saw the ball deflect into his own net to hand an ecstatic Al Bahri full points in a closely-contested opener. Al Taher should have been on the winner’s list going by the fact that they dominated possession from the start.
But Al Bahri did well to absorb the pressure and surprisingly stunned the defending champions when they took the lead off a quick counter when Hamad Al Shamsi showed quick anticipation to poke past Taher Ali Hussain in the 17th minute. Al Bahri went into the break with their lead intact, but Abdullah Al Muhairi managed to break their resistance in the opening minute of the second half to level the scores.
Al Taher, however, failed to get a second, and the missed opportunities came back to haunt them when Abdullah deflected the ball into his own net with only five seconds remaining on the clock.
Earlier, MKS announced themselves as strong title contenders with a dominant 5-0 win over last year’s runners-up The Emperor, while The Storm edged past Dmani Water 6-5. “We are very happy with this superb start to the competition,” Ewerton Florencio da Silva, who scored the first hat-trick for MKS, told Gulf News.
“This is the start we were looking for. And now that we have full points we will not stop anything short of reaching the final,” the Brazilian striker added.
Meanwhile, in the Wheelchair Basketball competition being held at the Dubai Club for People of Determination, Public Prosecution defeated Dubai Police 18-16 to move to the top of Group A, while Dubai Municipality drubbed RTA (Roads and Transport Authority) 63-20 to take the lead in Group B.
In other matches, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services defeated Dubai Health Authority 20-14, while Dewa (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) cruised to a 46-8 win over JK Sports. “We have reached the final of the past three editions, but have been unfortunate not to win the title,” Public Prosecution team captain Habib Abdul Majeed Al Baloushi said.
“This victory over Dubai Police should really give our team a huge boost moving forward, especially since Dubai Police are a really strong side with a number of national team players, alongside Egyptian professional Ashraf Au Zaid, who has been the top scorer in the last two editions of the tournament. This year our goal is not just to reach the final, but also win the title,” he added.
