Dubai: Hosts Dubai Police and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) got their campaign off on a winning note with convincing results on the opening night of the Maktoum Bin Rashid Ramadan Football Championship late on Thursday.
Dubai Police powered their way to a 3-1 win over the Sudan Gunners while Dewa rode on a hat-trick from Eisa Juma in a 4-2 thrashing of Al Khawaneej in the second Group A match of the night.
Held at the Dubai Police Officers Club, this annual tournament attracts some of the best amateur sides in the country vying for an attractive prize fund.
In the tournament opener, Dubai Police had to wait till one minute from half-time to open the scoring when Saif Abdullah tapped in. Ahmad Khalfan made it 2-0 with 10 minutes gone in the second half and Tareq Saeed put the issue beyond doubt seven minutes from the end.
However, Sudan Gunners did not give in and their hard work was rewarded on the full-time hooter when Abdul Hai got a consolation goal.
“This has been a disappointing first match for us,” Sudan Gunners coach Ayesha Mohammad told Gulf News.
Going against the Gunners was the loan of five of their players to Sudan’s Al Hilal Club. “It is only the first match and we still have two more matches to go in our preliminary round,” she said. “I am sure we will be there in the knockout stages following the return of our key players.”
The second match was dominated by Eisa Juma’s hat-trick as Dewa eased to an easy win. Juma scored in the 21st, 31st and 60th minutes while Walid Redwan scored the fourth for the winners. Mubarak Juma and Mubarak Hamad were the scorers for Al Khawaneej.
Earlier, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum opened the tournament in memory of his late father Shaikh Maktoum.
RESULTS
DEWA bt Al Khawaneej 4-2
Dubai Police bt Sudan Gunners 3-1
