UAE clinch thriller to finish seventh
Waleed pitches in with crucial strikes to seal 7-6 win over Tahiti
Hosts UAE redeemed their pride when they held off a strong Tahiti challenge 7-6 to finish seventh in the Huawei Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup here yesterday. Tahiti ended their campaign in eighth position.
After performing their traditional Tahitian haka, Angelo Schirinzi’s men got down to work, searching for the opening goal. They mounted dangerous attacks on several occasions, but were unable to find the back of the net until there were just three minutes of the first period to go. Triitau used his power to burst into space and send a firm shot straight past the goalkeeper.
Trailing, the UAE pressed harder, but left themselves open to Tahitian counterattacks, which called the Albahri into action several times.
The UAE’s equaliser came when Ali Karim turned away from a defender to get his shot in. Within seconds, the whistle went off and the sides were all square going into the second period.
In the second session, Tahiti retook the lead when Li Fung Kuee struck. As a Tahitian free-kick rattled the upright, the UAE were suddenly looking vulnerable, and it wasn’t long before they were two behind when Taiarui netted a third.
Waleed reduced the deficit to just one again, only to see it cancelled out almost immediately by a superb volley from Lebaste. The scoreline was at 4-2, going into the final period, But it didn’t take long for Triitau to complete his brace by taking Tahiti’s tally to five. Salem then scored a sixth.
With time running out and the hosts in imminent danger of a disappointing finish, there were three quickfire goals — two from Ahmad and a header from Waleed — that saw them pull the score back to 6-5. Waleed then rifled in two unstoppable strikes to complete an incredible 7-6 win for the hosts.
Later in the evening, Russia and Iran were locked in a potentially gripping final encounter. Russia had, on Friday, held their nerves to halt Brazil’s incredible winning run of 66 games as they won in penalty shootouts.