Match Corner ICAS Friendly (Abdullahi’s Farewell Match) Saints 9-5 Joga Bonito The Whites, playing Abdullahi’s farewell game, made sure that they lit the occasion with some crispy football as they extended their winning run to 11 games on the trot after overcoming the threat of a bunch of top players. Missing out on Ali Sajjad and Yaseen for the day, while Arbi arrived late; Saints started with Samar between the sticks. Salman Zaka partnered Abbasi in defense and Ozil, Ali Imran and Saadi combined in the midfield to support Noshyrwan in attack. Noman Gondal, who was in for his first appearance for the Saints since leaving his childhood team, made the bench with Mehdi and Usman Naeem. Saints started the game brightly and kept a fair deal of the possession as they looked to unlock the doors for the opener. It was the number-7, Neymar, who broke the deadlock with an accurate finish after finding an Ali Imran pass. Noshyrwan then suffered an injury after a hard tackle and had to be taken off with Usman Naeem replacing the felled. Maani scored with his first touch of the game from a direct free-kick and soon added a fearsome volley to the score-cards which now reflected 3-0 It was Ozil who then scored with a delicious finish as Saints went in full control, 4-0 Substitutions meant that Noman Gondal replaced Ozil while Mehdi came on for Saadi. With this followed a spell of dominance by the opposition as they scored two quick-fire goals to make it 4-2. Abdullahi scored the second and it was a goal fit to match the occasion; a wondrous strike. Ozil soon was at the helm of the damage again as he scored another in the top left corner and Maani soon followed up with his third of the game. 6-2 Abdullahi then again lit the occasion with a beautiful lob over the advancing keeper to make it 6-3 on the night but Abbasi shut out any calls for a comeback after capitalizing on a swift passing move which left the opponents stranded. 7-3 Joga then scored one more as they looked to add spring to the buried hopes. The scores now at 7-4 Noman Gondal then set up Maani beautifully for his fourth goal of the night with a well weighted pass, the striker making it 8-4 and potentially game over. The ending stages saw Ozil add one more to his name to complete his first hat-trick since the GIKI final, the cherry on the top of the icing, on the top of the cake. 9-4 Joga Bonito scored a late consolation to reduce the deficit but it counted for nothing, the score-line flashing 9-5 at full time. Man of the Match: Abdullahi Mahmood Saints FC bids Abdullahi a final farewell and hope that he has a great future waiting for him in the States. Insh-ALLAH You will be missed man, a great striker. Take Care and all the best.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 19:27:43 +0000
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