Courtesy: Gulf Daily News


KHCB book spot in quarter-finals

Thursday, July 14, 2011

KHALEEJI Commercial Bank (KHCB) booked their slot in the quarter-finals of the inaugural Bahrain Futsal Championship, following a nail-biting 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Manama Club at Juffair Youth Centre.

Both squads were deadlocked at 3-3 at the end of regular time, paving the way for the tense shootout and KHCB's narrow victory by a single goal.

KHCB joins Malkiya, Muharraq and Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) as qualifiers into the last eight from the second round of competition.

Another four teams have already booked automatic berths in the quarter-finals, including Busaiteen, Riffa, BBK and Al Ahli.

Muharraq punched their tickets after defeating the high-scoring Ministry of Interior 5-4 in a hugely exciting game.

BDF, meanwhile, outplayed Al Najma 8-5 to march on.

Malkiya had earlier secured their place following a 2-0 penalty shootout win over Diyar Al Muharraq, after both teams ended regulation tied at 4-4.

In the round of eight, Malkiya face off with Busaiteen, KHCB go head to head with Riffa, Muharraq face off with BBK and BDF lock horns with Al Ahli.

Meanwhile, the UAE national futsal team are scheduled to arrive in the kingdom today to play two friendly matches with their Bahraini counterparts.

Bahrain national futsal and beach soccer head coach Gustavo Zloccowick from Brazil told the GDN last night that he will name the Bahrain team today from a selection of the top players in the championship.

The friendlies are scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday at the same venue. The second exhibition match will be held prior to the ongoing tournament's gold medal game.

Twenty-six teams kicked off in this first-of-its-kind competition in Bahrain.

Overall

The eventual champions will claim the top prize of BD1,500. The runners-up will get BD1,000, while the third-placed will take home BD500. Side prizes will also be presented to the league's top scorer, best goalkeeper and best overall player. A Fair Play award will also be given out.

Fifteen companies are sponsoring the competition. They include golden sponsors Batelco, and silver sponsors Diyar Al Muharraq and Kuwait Finance House.

Bronze sponsors are Chevron Bahrain and Kia Motors, while other sponsors are BBK, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, Samsung, Ahmed Sharif Furniture, Kuwait Airways, Soccer Scene, Shoot, Al Ahmar Magazine and Al Qawasem Forums.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com