STAR CARPES CONFIDENT OF TAKING ON FOHOOD IN FUTSAL KNOCKOUT
Defending champion Al Taher’s star striker Jeferson Luis Correa Carpes was happy to live another day after his team had posted a strong 5-0 win against Inthar to book their place in the futsal quarter-finals of the Sixth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Sports Tournament, late on Thursday.
Brazilian Carpes scored the opener in the 10th minute and added a second three minutes from the full time whistle to guide the defending champions to a 5-0 drubbing of Inthar in their last Group C match. The three points took Al Taher into the knockout stages where they will meet star-studded Fohood Zabeel today.
Stung by a shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Al Bahri on the opening night, Al Taher played like champions as they outmatched and outlasted their opponents after leading 2-0 at half-time. Ahmad Abdullah Mohammad, Rashid Obaid Mohammad and Ali Asghar Hassan Zadeh added one goal apiece. “This was like a final for us. But now that this is over the next match is not going to be easy. That will be like a second final,” Carpes told Gulf News.
“The key to the match was the defence and we ensured we didn’t let in any goal. We needed to do a job and we got it done. That is only the first step as the next opponent [Fohood Zabeel] is already knocking at our door. Nothing is going to be different against them on Saturday. We are there to fight till the end,” the 34-year-old noted.
Fohood Zaabeel, meanwhile, looked in ominous form once again as they defeated Leader Sport 4-0 to take the top position in Group D, with Brazilian Taynan da Silva scoring two for them, and Douglas Junior and Ahmad Al Hossani one each. In another match, Emirates Driving Institute rode roughshod ■ over The Emperor for a 16-1 drubbing in their Group B encounter and book a quarter final clash with The Storm.
Williams Oliveira Do Nascimento scored four goals for Emirates Driving Institute, while his Brazilian compatriots Thiago Martins and Rangel Taian struck three apiece in the rout. Mohammad Abdullah Salem found the net twice, while Abdul Karim Jamil, Hashem Shah, Habib Ghuloom and Jameel Mansour scored one each.
“Our target was to win this match and go through as the top team from the group,” EDI coach Salem Jameel said.
“We were determined to win because, as group toppers, we would avoid Dubai Police in the quarter final as they are one of the strong contenders for the title,” he added.
Injury woes for The Storm
The Storm, meanwhile, are struggling with injury problems and will be missing the services of their two foreign players — Serbia’s Marko Peric and Brazilian Daniel Mendonca — in Sunday’s quarter-final clash with EDI. “Tests have revealed that the two players are suffering from cruciate ligament injuries,” The Storm
Futsal:
Emirates Driving Institute bt The Emperor 16-1; Al Taher bt Inthar 5-0; Fohood Zaabeel bt Leader Sport 4-0.
(On Saturday) 10pm Dubai Police v MKS; 11.30pm Al Bahri v Sport 4 All. (On Sunday) 10pm Emirates Driving Institute v The Storm; 11.30pm Fohood Zaabeel v Al Taher
Javi Lopez/Sandy Farquharson bt Mohammad Al Mansouri/Guillermo Villafane 2-0; Xavier Masson/Benjamin Cassaigne bt Emilio Misas/Carlos Luna 2-0
Quarter-finals:
Jeferson Luis Correa Carpes | Al Taher’s star striker
Padel:
manager Ahmad Al Taher said.
“We would have replaced those players to improve our chances of competing in the knockout stages, but unfortunately, the rules do not allow for the replacement of injured players once the tournament has started. So we are left with only one foreign player [Leonardo Da Rosa], and we will try to do the best we can in the quarter-finals,” he added.