JEDDAH, 30 May 2006 — The last three matches in the league phase of Saudi Indian Football Forum’s (SIFF) annual tournament will be played at the Ministry of Education Stadium on Friday. (June 2). The 1st and 2nd division qualifiers will then feature in the knockout part of the tournament on June 9 and 16 — the days when semifinal rounds are set. The finals in both divisions are scheduled for June 23.
In the matches played last week, the 1st division clash between Yas Club and Eranad Club ended in a 1-1 draw. Alimon netted the first goal for Yas Club in the 10th minute. Faisal of Eranad Club scored the equalizer in the 18th minute of the second half. The match was keenly fought by both teams and remained interesting throughout. Faisal was the man of the match. In spite of the draw, Yas has been edged out of the tournament, as it could not qualify for knockout rounds due to insufficient points.
In the two 2nd division matches held earlier, Blue Star A had an easy win over Rainbow Sports Club 5-1. It remained a one-sided game throughout. It looked at one stage that Rainbow would give a tough fight to Blue Star. That was the time when Rainbow’s Kunhi Mohamed Mannil scored the only goal in the 13th minute of the first half, thus leveling Blue Star’s lead courtesy of Moosa in the 10th minute. Moosa was then in full cry and scored four more goals — in the 17th and 23rd minutes of the first half and two more after the breather. Moosa received the best player of the match prize.
The other match between ABC Kerala XI and Young Challengers ended in a goalless draw. The match was ultimately decided on the basis of the toss that was won by Young Challengers. ABC Kerala’s custodian Abdul Ghafoor received the man of the match prize for a number of excellent saves he brought about.
V.P. Muhammad Ali, managing director of Jeddah National Hospital, was the chief guest of the day.
In the 1st division matches played on May 19, Western Union-Al Doraq topped Group A unbeaten and stormed into semifinals of the tournament by beating Friends Club 2-0. Mujibur Rehman of Doraq won the player of the match award. In the other match in the division, BCC improved is position in the group by knocking out ACC B 4-2. Siddique (2), Saidumuthu and Murshid were BCC’s scorers, while Azeez and Zameer scored the consolation goals for ACC. A brilliant header by Siddique off a cross by Murshid was the highlight of the match. Siddique was adjudged the player of the match.
In the 2nd division match of the day International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ) recorded its third straight win by beating BRC 2-0. With this win, IISJ qualified for the semifinal rounds. Omar Ahmed and Waleed were the scorers for IISJ. Waleed won the player of the match award. Air-India Taweel Al-Rajhi, Al-Abeer Polyclinic, Abdul Ghafoor Amin & C., Jeddah National Hospital, Pehla, Suzuki Alto and Air Arabia are among those supporting the tournament. Abdullah Iman, Abdullah Hameed Moosa, Aboobacker, Rasheed and Ahmed Mohiuddin are the tournament’s match officials. Matches for Friday (June 2) 2nd division — Asiana Yellow vs Combined Brothers; 1st division — Asiatic Cultural Center (ACC-B) vs Asian Soccer and Blue Star-B vs Bharath Cultural Center (BCC).
