Al-Ahli, al-Wasl and al-Nasr move into semi-finals

Al Ahli will meet Al Wasl while Al Nasr will clash with Ajman in the semi-finals of the 2013 UAE Beach Soccer League on Saturday, March 2. Al Ahli booked their place at the top of Group A with a 5-4 win over Al Shabab, while Ajman became the second team to book their place in the last four stages following a 5-0 win over Dibba Al Hisn. In the final round of Group B matches, Al Wasl dug in deep for a 3-2 win over Ittihad Kalba while Al Nasr kept their leadership of the group with a 7-3 hammering of Fujairah Club. Leading the charge for Al Ahli was Portuguese striker Madjer with a brace, while he got adequate support from his national teammate Nuno Miguel as Ahmad Hassan and Mohammad Salem scored one each. Al Ahli led 2-0 at the end of the first period and made it 4-0 in the second period, only to see Al Shabab come back strong with goals from Abdullah Abbas, Eisa Abbas and Brazilian striker Pablo scoring one each. Iranian striker Rustum Ali equalised with six minutes remaining in the third period, but Madjer scored the match-winner with just two minutes left. Al Wasl, meanwhile, fought with their backs against the wall with Saeed Yousuf and Butti Abdul Hussain giving them a 2-0 lead in the second period following a barren first period. But Mohammed Abdullah and Tareq Ahmed restored parity for Ittihad Kalba. In the final period, Saeed Yousuf got his name on the scoreboard and that proved to be the match-winner for the club from Al Zabeel. Meanwhile, Al Nasr went all out against Fujairah Club with their Iranian star Ahmad Jaddah firing in a hat-trick and Lebanese striker Haitham Al Fattal got a brace, while Adil Ali Al Rahi and Hussain Ahmed got one each. Mousa Ibrahim scored all three for the visitors, but that was not enough for them to advance to the next stage of the competition. The semi-finals will be played on March 2 followed by the final and play-off for the third spot the following Saturday.  GulfToday