Ittihad Kalba stun Fujairah

Ittihad Kalba, who had lost to group leaders Al Nasr 4-7 and Fujairah Club, who had secured a shock 7-5 result against fancied Al Wasl in Round 4 matches last week, revived their fortunes for a place in the semi-finals.

Ittihad Kalba fought with their backs against the wall for a 8-7 win over Fujairah Club to take their tally to six points – the same number of points as Fujairah and Al Wasl. Next weekend’s sixth and final round of matches will decide the second qualifier from Group B as Ittihad Kalba take on Al Wasl and Fujairah Club face leaders Al Nasr.

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Action during the UAE Beach Soccer league match at the Al Mamzar Beach Park. — Supplied photo

Al Nasr woke up late in their match against Al Wasl to finally seal full points with a 7-4 drubbing. After being tied 1-1 at the end of the first period, Al Wasl did well to go clear 2-1 through a strike from skipper Hyder Abbas. But Al Nasr took things in control in the third and final period with their Iranian striker Mohammad Ahmad notching a second hat-trick in as many weeks, while Adel Al Rahi, Ali Karim, Abbas Ali and Lebanese playmaker Haitham Fattal got their names on the scoreboard once each to ensure full points for the men in blue.

The 2013 UAE Beach Soccer League had taken a break of more than a month and a half to enable the UAE national team to participate in the Asian leg qualifiers for the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Tahiti that were held in Doha in January.

The UAE went on to beat Australia 3-2 in the third place play-off and seal their rightful place for the Tahiti Beach Soccer World Cup.

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 and help Al Ahli beat their arch-rivals from Oud Metha 5-1 and successfully defend their crown in the Super Cup final in November.

The eight teams who have confirmed for the 2013 edition of the beach soccer league have been divided into two groups with Group A consisting of Al Ahli, Ajman, Al Shabab and Dibba Al Hisn, while Group B is made up of Al Nasr, Ittihad Kalba, Al Wasl and Fujairah. The top two from each group will advance to the semi-finals of the league in this competition that is being 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.

RESULTS

Group A

Al Ahli beat Dibba Al Hisn 5-0; Al Shabab beat Ajman Club 6-5.

Group B

Al Nasr beat Al Wasl 7-4; Ittihad Kalba beat Fujairah Club 8-7.

STANDINGS

Group A


1. Al Ahli (15 pts); 2. Shabab (9); 3. Ajman (6); 4. Dibba (0).

Group B


1. Al Nasr (12); 2. Al Wasl (6); 3. Fujairah (6); 4. Ittihad Kalba (6).