Dubai: Debutants Al Habtoor will meet seasoned campaigners Al Joker in the futsal final of the Fourth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament.
Al Habtoor overcame an early two-goal deficit to defeat YLS-1 6-3, while defending champions and 2014 runners-up Al Joker put themselves up with a chance for a second title with a 5-0 drubbing of last year’s semi-finalists, Fohood Jumeirah.
“There is really no secret in our win tonight. The objective was to exert minimum and get some early goals. But none of that worked as we conceded those two early goals. After that it was always going to be tough, and I am glad we stuck together as a team to win and book our place in the final,” Al Habtoor’s Jean Pierre Guisel (Pito) told media.
“The focus now is to rest the body and get ready for an entertaining final against the other best team in the tournament,” the Brazilian added.
After a cautious start, Al Habtoor were down 0-2 with Russian Ivan Chishkala and Gelson Saiotti Junior scoring in the eighth and tenth minutes respectively. But Pito pulled one back in the 15th and then turned provider for Dovenir Domingues De Paiva a minute later to go into the break tied 2-2.
Within four minutes of the re-start both teams exchanged a goal each with De Paiva scoring his second for Al Habtoor, only to see Junior bring the two teams back on level terms.
Hamad Al Shamsi put Al Habtoor clear once again in the 12th minute and from then on it looked like the YLS-1 resistance had been broken as Pito set up De Paiva’s hat-trick and then scored his second of the night while strolling into an empty goal and one minute left on the clock.
“After being down by two goals, we simply believed we had the character as a team to turn the result in our favour,” man of the match De Paiva said.
“Both teams were tired after a gruelling schedule. But I think our players gave a little bit more to win in the end,” he added.
The second semi-final of the night proved to be a one-sided affair with the defending champions pumping in four goals before half-time and then biding their time and scoring just one more to finish easy 5-0 winners.
“No, this was not an easy match at all. Both teams have been very tired and we needed to do just enough to assure we dominate ball possesion and score goals,” Al Joker’s Spanish striker Miguel Sayago Marti said.
“We are very happy to be in the final against a strong team. Our strategy will pretty much be the same as in the past. We will defend hard and then try to catch them on the counters,” Marti added.
Results, Fixtures
Futsal semi-finals: Al Habtoor x YLS-1 6-3; Al Joker x Fohood Jumeirah 5-0
Fixtures: Third place: YLS-1 x Fohood Jumeirah; Final: Al Joker x Al Habtoor
