(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) sharjah - Day three of the Sharjah Ramadan Football Championship (SRFC) was too close to call in two of the four matches, but Enthar stole three points from the Falcons with a single goal and Sharjah Police hammered five past Al Amal to send a warning sign to the rest of the teams in their march to the quarterfinals.
The four-team, four-group format of SRFC is organised by Sharjah Sports Channel under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. Four U-14 teams are also playing in a head-to-head format for the first time in the competition, which runs until June 1.
In what proved to be a show of defensive brilliance rather than polished finishing, Al Anthar finally broke a frenzied onslaught thanks to a Juan Camacho strike in the sixth minute, but thanks to the stunning skills of Al Suqoor's goalkeeper Saeed Al Hosani that was the only chance of the first half.
After the break, Al Anthar once again piled on the pressure, and once again Al Housaini rose to the challenge, but following wave after wave of attack, the inevitable score came in the 11th minute of the second half through a long range effort from Khalid Al Hammadi.
Two minutes later, Khalid Al Saqatari pulled one back for Al Suqoor but it was Al Anthar who defended in numbers for the remainder of the match and picked up all three points. Elsewhere, in a five-a-side format known for its high-scoring games, it seemed Al Bahri and Quattro were determined to buck the trend. Despite plenty of well-intentioned attacks and scrambled defences, the teams reached the half time whistle without a goal to their names.
The second half followed in much the same vein, with plenty of pressure and a great display for the fans, but the absence of a decisive finish proved frustrating for both sides. Eventually Abdul Samad Mohammed broke the deadlock with a goal for Quattro, and looked to have clinched the game, but in the final minute Brazilian Rodrigo Peirer stole a point to earn a tough 1-1 draw.
It was a similar result but a very different story as The National took on Al Nojoom. Ahmed Khalil opened the scoring for The National in the fifth minute after a prolonged period of heavy pressure and the second duly came from Issam Al Shamekh to put his team two-up at the break.
The second half was a more heated affair with plenty of chances and excellent defending from both sides, but in the dying minutes, Al Shamekh scored his second to put The National 3-0 up and seemingly out of sight.
Al Nojoom, however, had different ideas. First came a strike from Abdullah Al Khamri to reduce the deficit to two goals, followed immediately by his second in what appeared to be another consolation score, but a dramatic final fling from Brazilian star Everton da Silva levelled the scores in what must be one of the most thrilling comebacks of the tournament so far.
The match between Sharjah Police and Al Amal was less of a thriller and more of an exhibition as Mohammed Obeid opened the scoring in the second minute for the police side. Just two minutes later, he netted the second, followed by Sabri Jameel who ensured an emphatic 3-0 lead going into the break.
In the second half, Sharjah Police picked up where they left off with Rodrigo Xavier scoring the fourth goal after six minutes and Abdul Karim Jameel adding to the tally to ease past Al Amal 5-0 at the final whistle. The result not only shows the strength of the Sharjah Police strike force but also their depth in defence.
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