Salem plays havoc among Cheetahs

Dubai - Hatta come out of shell, outplay Al Wasl

Rashid Salem of Hatta created panic in their fancied opponents' ranks with a superlative dual role on Tuesday night .
The final round in Group A of the sixth Hamdan international under 17 soccer at the Dubai Police Officers' stadium saw the future star of UAE soccer rise above everything else with a fantastic display of allround abilities, though he did tend to over indulge in his individual skills.
Al Wasl took the lead (1-0) thanks to a fine tap-in by Salah Mohammed Alblooshi in the third minute off a cross from the far right. Hatta counter attacked continuously and looked promising enough to draw parity soon. They were denied close access to the Hatta goal area due to the capabilities of the deep defence led by the tall Wasl custodian Suhail Abdulla.
Their efforts finally paid dividends when Khalid Ziad bin Kashan made no mistake off a penalty award in the 25th minute (1-1) after Salem was 'unfairly tackled' according to the ref.
It soon became 2-1 for the blue shirted Hatta lads as Marwan Ahmed tapped home cleverly in the 29thminute from a great piece work legwork done by Salem on the right flank. The star of night, Salem, got himself on to the scoresheet in the 32nd minute with a bullet like run after receiving a great through pass. His shot while on the run saw Abdulla, the Wasl keeper, look helplessly at the lightning fast finish (3-1).
With a half time score of 3-1 in their favour, Hatta did not sit idle on their first half cushion, and kept attacking as Salem guided his troops upfront brilliantly. The taller Yellow brigade from just across two streets, tried variations especially the aerial way, and off one such move, a long lob from deep defence saw stopper Ibrahim Redha Al Fardan jump high before heading in a beautifully created goal in the 85thminute.
Hatta lost to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia 0-9 on the opening day but were a different proposition for the Cheetahs on Tuesday.
"The exams kept our boys indoors for a good one month prior to this tournament and the rustiness was seen in our first match against Hilal. In fact we could train together as one unit only three days before we came to Dubai," Syed Mohamed Aly Elkoly, Hatta's goalkeepers' coach told Khaleej Times.
Al Wasl lost their opening encounter 0-2 after a gritty display against Borrusia Dortmund last weekend.
Al Wasl coach Khalifa Mubarak Al Shamsi, told Khaleej Times: "No excuse this time. We played with the longer ball overhead and the ploy worked but we needed more than that as we faltered against a steady defence continuously."
moni@khaleejtimes.com