Day four of the second edition of the Sharjah Ramadan Football Championship (SRFC) currently underway at Sharjah Sports Club saw heated competitions between participating teams determined to battle it out to qualify for the quarter finals and take another step forward to hoisting the tournament’s trophy.
Organised by Sharjah Sports Channel and running until June 12, SRFC is witnessing an impressive turnout of spectators and fans keen to cheer on their teams and urge their players forward. Friday’s games saw more than 3,000 audience members, including young people and families, create a carnival atmosphere inside the stadium as they willed their teams to win. Such was the overcrowding of the indoor stadium that the organising committee had to allocate special seats for families.
Also participating on the fourth day of the tournament were prominent Emirati football personalities, namely Ismail Rashid, former Al Wasl Club and UAE national team player; Aziz Al Anbari, former player and coach of Sharjah Sports Club and the national team; Mohammed Yousef, Sharjah Club’s goalkeeper and Walid Hussein, Al Ahli Club player.
The first match on day four of the tournament saw Shabab Al Sharjah face Al Hamriya. Ahmed Saif netted the first goal for Al Hamriya in the second minute of the first half before Omran Hassan scored an equalizer for Shabab Al Sharjah in the 10th minute. The end of the first half of the match saw the teams head for their break on a draw.
In the second half, both teams came out playing with a determination to win, with Humaid Tawakul breaking the dead-lock by netting Al Hamriya’s second goal in the fourth minute. Shabab Al Sharjah’s Khalid Salah missed a precious chance to equalise when he headed the ball wide of the goal, with the match ending with a 2-1 win for Al Hamriya.
The second game of the evening brought out the previous edition’s champions Royal to play against Al Bahri, which had taken the lead in the competition’s Group One. The match got off to a blistering start with Royal player Mohammed Al Mulla scoring a spectacular strike in the second minute. The goal was the only one in the first half, but the opening of the game was not without other incident, as Royal’s Nawwaf Al Tai was given a yellow card for anti-sporting behaviour in the 10th minute.
The strikes intensified between the two teams in the second half but neither was able to break the defence of their rivals and score. In the third minute, Royal’s Brazilian Player Alex Diaz was pushed by Al Bahri’s Abdullah Mohammed Salem, who was given a yellow card as a result. Diaz appeared energised by the foul on him and one minute later netted the second goal for Royal.
Al Bahri’s attacks continued but they could not break Royal’s solid defence. Goalkeeper Tahir Ali showed his high skills by keeping a clean sheet, even saving a penalty taken by Al Bahri’s goalkeeper Jassim Ali. In the 10th minute, Bader Saeed scored the third goal for Royal and the match ended with a 3-0 win for Royal.
The third game of day four of the tournament saw Al Burkan, bottom of Group One, keen to clinch a win over their rivals Al Watania to advance their poor position and to maintain their presence in the tournament. However, it wasn’t to be, with Al Watania revealing their footballing talents from the very opening of the game. Egyptian player and team captain Ahmed Abdul Qader Al Watania’s netted for the team in the third minute and in the seventh minute, scored his second. Three minutes later, Al Watania’s Ahmed Saleh netted the third goal for his team, followed by his Spanish teammate Katella Perez who scored the fourth goal in the 11th minute.
Despite it looking to be a rout for Al Watania, Al Burkan player Nasser Sbeed ensured that their opponent wouldn’t keep a clean sheet in the game by scoring his team’s only goal in the 21st minute, before Ahmed Abdul Qader scored the fifth goal for Royal and his personal third. Ahmed was followed by his teammate Katella Preez, who netted the sixth goal for his team and his personal second. Al Burkan’s weak defence could not withstand fierce strikes by Al Watania, whose player Ahmed Al Hosani scored the seventh goal in the last minute of the first half.
Abdullah Karmastahi began the second half by scoring twice for Al Watania, taking their goal tally to nine in the game. In the 11th minute, Ahmed Abdul Qader scored Al Watania’s 10th goal and his fourth, with the match ending with a sweeping 10-1 triumph over Al Burkan.
The first of Sunday’s three SRFC games will see Al Embrator face Al Zaeem at 10:30pm in Group Three, followed by a match between Extra and Al Hamriya, also in Group Three, at 11:15pm. The third of Sunday’s games is a Group Four game that pits Al Jawarih against Al Hamriya, with kick-off taking place at 12:00 midnight.