Courtesy: Gulf Daily News


Layalina take on BRTC in final

by Rami Hulayyel

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

LAYALINA Magazine outplayed Al Ayam 8-1 to book a spot in the final of the first Media Futsal Championship, being organised by the Bahrain Football Association (BFA) and General Organisation for Youth and Sports.

Hamad Al Seba'a starred for the victors with a hat-trick, while Mohammed Janahi, Yousef Saif (2 each) and Aman Al Nuaimi also contributed to Layalina's impressive win.

Al Ayam, who headed into this game as favourites, scored their only goal through Ali Al Saleh.

Layalina will now play in the final, scheduled for tonight, against Bahrain Radio and TV Corporation (BRTC) who defeated Bahrain Public Relations Association 3-1 earlier on the same day.

Today's final is set for 9.30pm kick-off and will be held under the patronage of Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman and Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

In an action-packed 30-minute semi-final, it was Al Ayam who took the lead after just two minutes when Al Saleh fired from close range past Layalina's goalkeeper Majdi Asaad.

However, Al Ayam's lead could only last for one minute as Janahi capitalized on a counter attack, sending the ball past Al Ayam's goalkeeper Salah Salman.

The match became a neck and neck as both teams put up their best show. But it was Layalin who eventually found the back of the net in the ninth minute.

Janahi again was on target as he took advantage of his high pace to evade Al Ayam's defence and slot the ball past Salman, who is the senior goalkeeper of Bahrain's beach soccer team.

And with one minute remaining till half-time, Al Seba'a explored his skills to open his scoring spree with a neat finish to make it 3-1.

Unlike many expectations, Al Ayam were in totally disarray in the second-half as they conceded five more goals.

Al Seba'a was again left unmarked to fire the fourth goal for Layalina in the 16th minute, then substitute Al Dossery slammed two goals in the 20th minutes to make it 6-1.

Layalina continued to impress as they added two goals in the last nine minutes. Al Seba'a found the back of the net in the 21st minute to complete his hat-trick, then Al Nuaimi sealed Al Ayam's face with an eighth goal four minutes before the end.

Layalina Magazine made it to this stage after a hard-fought battle with Al Wasat. Both teams, who registered easy wins over Akhbar Al Khaleej, faced off in the deciding match, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

The result came to the benefit of Layalina who qualified on a better goal difference. They completed the first round with a 15-2 while Al Wasat had a margin of 16-4.

For Al Ayam, they started their campaign with a stern test as they faced Al Qawassim Group, one of the competition's favourite teams.

However, Al Ayam put up a splendid show and captured a resounding 7-0 victory, then secured their place in the semi-finals after they comfortably defeated BNA 4-1 in the concluding first round tie.

Leading the scoring chart is Ebrahim Ahmed Habib of MBC Group with 19 goals. He is being followed by Thamer Shammoos of BRTC (12 goals), Hussain Kazerooni (7) of MBC Group besides Falah Abbas and Mohammed Darwish (6 each).

This event is being sponsored by Batelco, Ithmaar Bank, Majestic Cars, Diyar Al Muharraq and website b4bh.com.

A BD27,000 total purse, including BD7,000 for the champions, is up for the grabs in this first edition of the tournament, the first-ever futsal event staged at Khalifa Sports City.

Soccer fans attending the matches also have the chance to win BD250 cash prizes during every match of the tournament.

The main award of the event is a brand new car, donated by Majestic Cars. Prizes are being presented at half-time of every match through raffle draw on the free tickets given to the fans.




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