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Al Ahli, Ajman enter Beach Soccer semis

Al Ahli booked their place at the top of Group A with a 5-4 win over Al Shabab, while Ajman became the second team to book their place in the last four stages following a 5-0 win over Dibba Al Hisn.

In the final round of Group B matches, Al Wasl dug in deep for a 3-2 win over Ittihad Kalba while Al Nasr kept their leadership of the group with a 7-3 hammering of Fujairah Club.

Action during a Beach Soccer match between Al Nasr and Fujairah Club. — Supplied photo

Leading the charge for Al Ahli was Portuguese striker Madjer with a brace, while he got adequate support from his national teammate Nuno Miguel as Ahmad Hassan and Mohammad Salem scored one each.

Al Ahli led 2-0 at the end of the first period and made it 4-0 in the second period, only to see Al Shabab come back strong with goals from Abdullah Abbas, Eisa Abbas and Brazilian striker Pablo scoring one each. Iranian striker Rustum Ali equalised with six minutes remaining in the third period, but Madjer scored the match-winner with just two minutes left.

Al Wasl, meanwhile, fought with their backs against the wall with Saeed Yousuf and Butti Abdul Hussain giving them a 2-0 lead in the second period following a barren first period. But Mohammed Abdullah and Tareq Ahmed restored parity for Ittihad Kalba.

In the final period, Saeed Yousuf got his name on the scoreboard and that proved to be the match-winner for the club from Al Zabeel.

Meanwhile, Al Nasr went all out against Fujairah Club with their Iranian star Ahmad Jaddah firing in a hat-trick and Lebanese striker Haitham Al Fattal got a brace, while Adil Ali Al Rahi and Hussain Ahmed got one each. Mousa Ibrahim scored all three for the visitors, but that was not enough for them to advance to the next stage of the competition.

The semi-finals will be played on March 2 followed by the final and play-off for the third spot the following Saturday.

The UAE Beach Soccer season had opened in October with the Super Cup followed by the President’s Cup.

Al Nasr had defeated Al Ahli in the President’s Cup final in October only to see Portuguese star striker Madjer scoring a hat-trick to help Al Ahli beat their arch-rivals from Oud Metha 5-1 and successfully defend their crown in the Super Cup final in November.

Eight teams had confirmed for the 2013 UAE Beach Soccer League that is organised by the Dubai Sports Council under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council.