Dubai: Arsenal powered their way to the top of standings with a record of three wins and a draw in Group C of the fifth Maktoum Bin Rashid Ramadan Football Championship at the Dubai Police Officers Club late on Saturday.
Arsenal humbled last year’s finalists Capital Police 4-2 to earn their third win to collect ten points and go to the top of the group. With Arsenal assured of the top position, the fight for the second spot will be a hard battle with three teams in the fray. Commandos thrashed winless RAK Sport 7-2 to go up to seven points, Dubai Customs also climbed to seven points with a 4-2 win over Sport 4 All, while Capital Police may still fancy their chances with six points to their credit.
Khalid Yousuf opened the scoring for Arsenal in the second minute, but Rami Yaslam equalised for Capital Police just before half-time. Abdul Karim made it 2-1 for Arsenal in the 28th minute of the second half and Ebrahim Sulaiman’s goal and then Abdul karim’s second put them comfortably ahead 4-1. However, Yaslam completed his brace three minutes from the final whistle, but the Capital Police ran out of time as Arsenal gathered full points.
In Group D, the scene was clearer with Al Fohood going to the top of the standings with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Dubai Police, who still have an outside chance as they sit in second position with seven points.
Samba, who had lost in their previous match against Al Fohood, secured a close 2-1 win over Dubai Ports to also be in the running with seven points.
The preliminary round matches will continue at the Dubai Police Officers Club till Monday night, after which the quarter-finals will be held on Wednesday following a day’s break.
Sponsored by Inkas Vehicles LLC under the patronage of Shaikh Zayed Bin Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the annual competition consists of indoor rowing, cross fit, Mas-Wrestling, running races, bowling and the football tournament, with a total prizemoney of Dh1 million.
