One last hurdle for hosts: Title-holders Jordan

Abu Dhabi: Hosts UAE will face defending champions Jordan in tonight's final of the 3rd West Asian Football Federation Women Championship after beating Bahrain 4-0 in Friday's semifinals.

Earlier in the day, Jordan trounced Palestine 10-0 to progress to the final for the third time having won the title in the first two editions of the championship. Debutants UAE, having made the final, are now aspiring to dethrone the champions.

The Bahraini team defended strongly in their match against the hosts and kept them at bay for 37 minutes before Jalila Al Nuaimi, the team captain, scored with a brilliant long-range shot.

The home team continued to press for more goals while the visitors defended dourly till the 71st minute when Fatima Bint Mubarak scored twice within the space of nine minutes before forcing a penalty after being brought down inside the penalty box. Sara Hassanain made no mistake with the resultant spot kick.

The UAE's Australian coach, Connie Selby, commented: "I am happy and satisfied with the promotion to the final from our first participation in a continental competition.

"We know the strength and experience of Jordan but with due respect, we are looking forward to winning the title."

Maher Abu Hantash, the Jordanian coach, also exuded confidence following the team's authoritative win over Palestine.

"We proved, from match to another, that we are the best team and that we are on our right path to defend our title," she said.

"We have respect for the UAE because they proved to be a capable team and I believe that the final will be a thrilling competition."

Palestine were a shadow of the team that beat Kuwait 17-0 and despite a strong start to the match, they surrendered to the stronger and more experienced Jordanians. Shahinaz Jebreel scored the first goal in the 11th minute for the champions. Farah Al Azab added a hat-trick, Maysa Jubara and Zena Petro scored a brace each and Sama Khuraisat and Stephanie Alinber rounded off the tally.

"We were outplayed by a more superior Jordanian team." Hani Abullail, the coach of Palestine, said after the match. "We still have a lot of hard work to do to gain experience and team work."

Fixtures

Today's matches: 4:15pm Third place play-off - Bahrain vs Palestine

6:45pm Final - UAE vs Jordan