Dubai: The RAK Hawks earned the right to meet Al Joker in the final of the Sixth Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Football Championship that concludes at the Dubai Police Officers Club on Friday.
Both teams secured tiebreaker wins in Wednesday’s semi-finals with the RAK Hawks defeating hosts Dubai Police 4-2, while Al Joker went past Dubai Lions 4-3. The final will be held at 11pm on June 25.
After both semi-finals ended goalless, the heroes for both finalists were their goalkeepers. Abdullah Mousa on the RAK Hawks’ goal saved off Jassim Abdullah and Hamdan Qasim while his teammates Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Mallalah. Khalid Walid and Younus Murad all found the back of the Dubai Police net.
In the second semi-final, Al Joker goalkeeper Mohammad Rashid saved Mohammad Ali’s penalty while Mohammad Hassan, Saeed Mubarak, Khalifa Ebrahim and Mohammad Ahmad all scored to see their team through.
Former Al Ahli player Bader Yaqout, who trains Al Joker, expected the semi-finals to be tense and close affairs. “All wanted to take this last step into the finals and so it was natural to try and have a tight defence and depend on the tiebreaker. All teams have gone through a tough preliminary round and quarter-finals, so the idea was to conserve energy for the final,” Yaqout told Gulf News.
“Now that the best two teams are through to the final one can expect a very open and high-scoring match,” he added.
Meanwhile, the organising committee will be having an exhibition match between the sons of journalists and sons of former players during the half-time of the final on Friday. There will also be a separate tournament for the media covering the championship.
Sponsored by Emirates NBD, Dewa, Pocari Sweat and Leader Sport, the sixth edition of the Shaikh Maktoum Football Championship is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his brother Shaikh Zayed.
RESULTS:
(Semi-finals) RAK Hawks bt Dubai Police 4-2; Al Joker bt Dubai Lions 4-3.
