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Saudi Al Shabab bag Al Ain's International Football Championship

 

Al Shabab Football Team of Saudi Arabia were crowned champions of Al Ain's third Edition International Football Championship in their debut after holding hosts Al Ain to a 1/1 draw in their third and last round match played on Friday evening, August 19th on Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain Club. The seven-day friendly tournament was organized under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor, First Deputy Chairman of Al Ain Club and First Deputy Chairman of the honorary council with the participation of the champions Al Shabab, the home team Al Ain alongside with third-placed Al Suwaiq of Oman with two points and Al Riffa from Bahrain, who collected only one point off a draw with Al Suwaiq in their last  game which was held on the concluding day that see them at the bottom of the ladder. The final day was attended by Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi Chairman of The UAE Football Association, Rashid Mubarak Al-Hajri, Deputy Chairman of Al Ain Club Board of Directors and Chairman of the Organizing Committee, heads of participating delegations and a big mass of fans.

The Saudi side have won six points in the first and second rounds after maintaining two wins against Al Suwaiq and Al Riffa with 2 / 1 and 3 / 1 results respectively while Al Ain collected 4 points after beating Al Riffa of Bahrain 6/1 in the opening match, but stumbled in front of Al Suwaiq with a goalless draw.      

Al Shabab played the last game with two chances, a win and a draw, while their counterparts Al Ain needed only a win to bag the trophy. The two teams demonstrated a lovely display with Al Ain controlling the game in the opening minutes but squandered four successive opportunities in the first ten minutes through Ismail Ahmad, Yasser Al-Gahtani, Ali Al Wihaibi and Mohammad Mal Allah.

Al Shabab made their first dangerous attack in the 22nd minute which resulted in the first goal scored by Al Ain's defender Ismael Ahmad who deflected the ball that switched by Abdullah Al Asta from the left flank into his own net when he tried to clear it away to help the visitors end the first half with a 1-0 lead.

Yasir AlGahtan leveled the score in the 56th minute off a penalty kick and things remained the same afterwards without any change despite of the big number of substitutions made by the two coaches after the break.

On the other hand Al Shabab's team won the cup, the gold medals and a cash prize of three hundred thousand dirhams, while Al Ain won the silver medals and an amount of two hundred thousand dirhams. Nasser Al Shamrani Al Shabab's striker also won the cup of the top scorer by drawing lots after a tie in the balance of goals with Yasser Al Gahtani of Al Ain with each scoring two goals. The Omani team Al Suwaiq was selected as the ideal team and their goalkeeper Faiz Al-Rashidi was named the best goalkeeper in the tournament.