Sports | Thursday 8 June, 2017 5:17 am |

Day eight of the Sharjah Ramadan Football Championship (SRFC) saw the biggest win of the tournament so far, with Al Embrator defeating Forsan Al Muwaleef in a stunning 10-0 victory. The game was one of the highlights of the matches held on Tuesday at Sharjah Sports Club, with another three games in the final preliminary stages taking place at the venue to decide who would progress to the quarter-finals.

The first match of the evening saw runner-up of Group Two Al Ameed face bottom of the group Al Zaeem who needed a win to stay in the tournament. Early impressions were that Al Zaeem might be able to secure their place in the quarterfinals, as it was Ahmed Al Aryani who put the team ahead in the 13th minute. However, Al Ameed responded by upping their game, with the team’s Jaber Murad striking a beautiful shot on target only for it to be saved by Al Zaeem’s goalkeeper, Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi. In the last minutes of the first half, Jaber shot on target again and this time successfully scored an equaliser for Al Ameed.

In the second half of the game, Al Ameed strengthened their defence and the team’s Hashen Safar scored their second goal in the 11th minute. A third followed in the closing minutes of the game, with the final 3-1 win for Al Ameed putting Al Zaeem out of the tournament.

The  second game of the evening saw Forsan Al Muwaleef take on the competition favourites Al Embrator, who started the game with confidence from their tally of six points and 16 goals.  Kuwaiti player Abdul Rahman Fahd netted Al Embrator’s first goal in the third minute, which was swiftly followed by teammates Marco Berge and Mohammed Bouladi who scored Al Embrator’s second and third goals respectively. The first half ended 3-0 to Al Embrator.

The second half saw more fierce attacks on Forsan Al Muwaleef’s goalkeeper Tariq Abdullah, with the result that Al Embrator’s players were able to add to their personal scores. Abdul Rahman Fahd scored the fourth goal for the team and his second, Mohammed Bouladi netted the team’s fifth and his second, and Marco Berge scored his personal second and the team’s sixth.

Forsan Al Muwaleef’s poor performance and weak defence enabled Al Embrator to continue their dominance of the game, with more shots finding their way past goalkeeper Tareq Abdullah. In the 12th minute, Ahmed Abdullah put his team’s seventh in the back of Forsan Al Muwaleef’s net. Continuing his superb form, Abdul Rahman Fahd scored the eighth goal for Al Embrator and his personal third. A minute later, Mohammed Bouladi celebrated his own hat trick as Al Embrator swelled their lead to 9-0. In the dying seconds of the game, Fahd scored his fourth and the 10th for his team, taking his tally to eight goals in the tournament and seeing him top its list of goal scorers. Al Embrator’s 10-0 victory over Forsan Al Muwaleef was the biggest win so far in this year’s tournament.

The third match on day eight saw runner up of Group Four Extra play bottom of the group Shabab Al Sharjah, who were keen to clinch a win against their rivals to maintain their presence in the tournament.

Uzbek player Gaflon Anwarov scored the first goal for Extra in the sixth minute, followed by his teammate Mohammed Qassim who put Extra’s second past Shabab Al Sharjah’s goalkeeper Saeed Al Hosani in the eighth minute. Khalifa Al Suwaidi scored for Shabab Al Sharjah in the 10th minute, with the first half ending 3-1 to Extra.

The second half saw Extra creating more chances. Mahmoud Ibrahim netted the team’s fourth goal before his teammate Gaflon Anwarov scored his personal second and his team’s fifth. Abdullah Al Falasi followed by delivering an incredible hat trick in the space of a few minutes, taking his team’s tally to eight goals and ending the match with a stunning 8-1 victory for his team.

The fourth and final game before the SRFC quarterfinals saw Al Hamriya face Al Jawarih, with Eisa Ibrahim scoring the first goal for Al Hamriya in the opening minutes. Shortly after, Al Moataz Bellah Abdul Samei netted the equaliser for Al Jawarih who then took the lead when a second shot from his teammate Rashid Obeid found its way past Al Hamriya goalkeeper Khalid Al Jarmen. Abdullah Ahli netted Al Jawarih’s third goal in the 13th minute, with the first half ending 3-1 to Al Jawarih.

The second half saw Al Jawarih’s Al Moataz Bellah Abdul Samei netting the fourth goal and his personal second in the third minute, then shortly after earning his hat track with his fifth goal for his team. Rashid Obeid then scored Al Jawarih’s sixth goal and the match ended with a 6-1 triumph over Al Hamriya. Extra will now face Al Embrator in the quarterfinals.

Organised by Sharjah Sports Channel and running until June 12, the second edition of SRFC is hosting a number of senior officials, sports personalities and media celebrities who are attending to watch the games. Present on Tuesday night were HE Khalid Eisa Al Midfa, Assistant Secretary General of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Dr. Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Media City, and Emirati actor Mohammed Al Ameri. The invitees praised the skills of the players and the impressive public turnout for the tournament, highlighting its flawless organisation and professional media coverage.