Dubai: Al Taher swept off nearly everything on offer as the 5th edition of the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament concluded at the NAS Sports Complex late on Friday.
Both teams with a common sponsor in Ahmad Al Taher battled till the very end with the very last second producing a match-winner with Al Taher getting past stablemates The Emperor 8-7 to win the title. Al Taher players also picked up two of the four individual awards along the way.
Deives Moraes scored in the last second of play as the new champions picked up the top-scorer and best UAE national player prizes through Fernando Nascimento Cosme and Ahmad Abdullah Jashak.
Both teams in the futsal finals are owned by Ahmad Al Taher, and the owner really didn’t know which team to back going into the final.
“I had a word with both teams before they went in for the final and told them to play tough and fair, and the better team would win. But I am glad that Al Taher won as the entire clan is now happy that the Al Taher name has been put up there,” Al Taher told Gulf News.
Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-In-Chief of Dubai Police and Chairman of the Organising Committee was joined by Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Saleh Ameen, Board of Directors, DSC and Hassan Al Mazroei, Tournament Director, in handing over the trophies and awards to the various winners.
Both teams were evenly matched, but it was Al Taher who always showed more hunger while maintaining a slight edge over The Emperor at all times. It was The Emperor getting off to a positive start with Eder Fermino Lima at hand to guide home a deflection off an Ivan Chishkala shot in the fifth minute. But Al Taher drew level through Fernando Nascimento Cosme off the very next move.
Cosme put Al Taher ahead in the eighth minute when he tapped in a pass from Jashak only to see Lima score a second time with 4.22 minutes to go in the first period. Al Taher went into the lead when Moraes latched on to a clever back-heel from Cosme and Jashak turned in to give them a 4-2 advantage. But, with 38.6 seconds remaining Leandro Henrique Cypriano pulled one back as The Emperor trailed 3-4 heading into half-time.
In the first six minutes of the second half, Moraes completed his hat-trick to put Al Taher comfortably clear at 6-3. But in the seventh and eighth minutes, Chishkala scored twice to make it 5-6 and give The Emperor fresh hope.
But once again, Cosme scored to take his personal tally to four on the night to keep a two-goal distance for Al Taher. But Lima matched Cosme’s total of four goals within the next couple of minutes to keep the teams tied at 7-7. Al Taher went all-out and Moraes came up with the easiest of tap-ins from close with only 0.9 seconds left for the final whistle to seal a fine victory for Al Taher.
RESULT/AWARDS
(Final): Al Taher bt The Emperor 8-7
Best Goalkeeper: Leonardo De Melo Vieira Leite (Al Wasl)
Best UAE National Player: Ahmad Abdullah Mohammad Jashak (Al Taher)
Top Scorer: Fernando Nascimento Cosme (Al Taher)
Best Player of the Tournament: Eder Fermino Lima (The Emperor)
