Dubai: Al Bahri will meet Emirates Driving Institute (EDI) in the futsal final of the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Tournament after knocking out fancied opponents in the two semi-finals at the Nas Sports Complex late on Monday.
Al Bahri caused the first major shock of the night while defeating Dubai Police 2-1, thanks to a match-winner just 25 seconds from the final whistle from Frenchman Mohammad Abdessamad. EDI then brought down the curtains for defending champions Al Taher following a lone strike from Abdul Kareem Jamil at the end of the first session of play.
In a fast-paced encounter, it was Abdessamad who set up Ahmad Saleh and hand Al Bahri the lead in the 13th minute. However, Alex William Da Silva came up with the equaliser in the second half. The 27-year-old French international next had a part in Dubai Police goalkeeper Farooq Ali Shambih sending-off for handling the ball outside the box.
“As a player, this is what you dream of — of scoring at big moments in big matches,” Abdessamad related.
“So I am really happy to have done that tonight. But this is a team sport and credit belongs to the full team, to each and every member of the team for the way they fought out there against a very strong opponent, who were one of the favourites for the title,” he pointed out.
Al Bahri has been one of the most resolute teams in the competition so far. They rode on a last-ditch own goal for a 2-1 win against defending champions Al Taher in their opener, before fighting back from 1-4 down to split points with Inthar and qualify for the knockouts where they drubbed Sport 4 All 7-2. In their semi-finals against Dubai Police, it was a similar display of nerves to snatch a last-minute goal through Abdessamad.
“It was a great way to finish the game,” Essam Alla Shamkh, Al Bahri’s Egyptian pro, related.
“That goal in the final seconds of the game took us into the final, which was our target from the first day of the tournament. We were all determined to achieve this target and you could see that from the way we have stuck together in difficult situations and played as one, especially in this match against a strong opponent like Dubai Police,” he added.
In the second semi-final, the scoreline barely does justice to a match that was played at a frantic pace, with plenty of scoring opportunities at both ends, but the two goalkeepers, especially EDI’s Hassan Ali Hantoobi, did a brilliant job. The all-important goal came in the 18th minute, when Abdul Kareem Jamil scored off a quick counterattack.
Meanwhile, Team Uncle Saeed successfully defended their team title in the NAS Padel competition after Valencia conceded following an injury to one of their players Guillermo Villafane. Team Mondia took third place following a 2-1 win over SHM.
In wheelchair basketball, Dubai Police clinched third place with an outright 32-13 win over Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services at the Dubai Club for People of Determination in Al Ghusais. Egyptian Ashraf Abu Zaid was the star for Dubai Police.
