Al Joker win NAS Ramadan Sports futsal title

Al Joker won the futsal title as the 4th edition of the Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament concluded on Tuesday.

Al Joker remained solid in their defence and relied on quick counter-attacks to get past a resolute Al Habtoor 3-1 in an entertaining final at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

The star of the final was Spain’s Miguel Sayago Marti also (Miguelin), who scored two goals.

His team-mate from Brazil Edelson Robson Dos Santos (Robinho) had given Al Joker the lead early in the first half.

After playing two games in the past two days, both teams looked tired.

However, Al Joker looked sharper as they allowed Al Habtoor to mount attacks on their goal and tried to catch them off the foot on quick counter-attacks.

But the best Al Habtoor could do was find an equaliser through Leonardo Mendonca Da Rocha early in the first session after Robinho had given Al Joker the lead.

Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) was joined by Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), former Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos and Tournament Director Hassan Al Mazroei in presenting the trophies and medals to the players after the final.

Both teams were evenly balanced till midway through the first period after holding on for a 1-1 draw. But then in the 19th minute, Miguelin gave Al Joker the lead when he volleyed home from an acute angle to go into half-time with a 2-1 advantage.

In the second half, Al Joker continued defending gallantly trying to catch Al Habtoor on quick counter-attacks. One of these counters in the 12th minute of the second session resulted in a third goal as Miguelin tapped into an empty goal after receiving a pass from Marcenio Ribeiro Da Silva.

Earlier, YLS-1 thrashed Fohood Jumeirah 7-3 and secure third place. Led by Gelson Saiotti Junior - the highest scorer of the competition with 19 goals - YLS-1 dominated early to go into the half-time with a 3-0 lead.

It was Gelson Saiotti Junior who was once again the scorer for the winners as he found the net in the fourth and 20th minutes while Ivan Chishkala from Russia got his name on the score sheet.

However, Fohood Jumeirah fought back in the second period with Jefferson Luis Correa scoring the first goal. But after this it was all YLS-1 as Junior put the finishing touches to his hat-trick to run away easy winners in the end.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), this year’s three-week long sporting extravaganza was sponsored by Land Rover, Al Tayer Motors, RTA, Emaar, Emirates Airline, Al Naboodah, Ahmed Siddiqui & Sons and Arabian Automobiles Al Rostamani Motors with various winners walking away with part of the Dh8 million fund.

Results

Final: Al Joker bt Al Habtoor 3-1

Third place: YLS-1 bt Fohood Jumeirah 7-3

Individual awards

Best player: Miguel Sayago Marti (Al Joker)

Top-scorer: Gelusio Saiotti Junior (YLS-1)

Player of the final: Edelson Robson Dos Santos (Al Joker)

Best goalkeeper: Jaber Al Ali (Al Joker)

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