Match day 8 of U-13 Mamen Inter School Football Tournament saw group A teams take on each other, in the second round of their group stage games.  An essenatial round of group stage games, especially for the four-team groups which decides the teams that go through to the quarters.

The late afternoon kickoff saw Iskandhar take on Dharumavantha in what was expected to be the group’s biggest games as the favourites from the group to go to the quarters take on each other. Both teams came into the game with wins from previous games which saw Iskandhar smash nine pass Majeedhiyya in the “Red Derby” and Dharumavantha put six past Arabiyya.

The first half began with exciting football from both sides which went head to head. Despite the many shots and chances created by either side, the first goal came in at the last minute of the half from Iskandhar’s Yoosuf Aish Mohamed. However, in the second minute of stoppage time Mohamed Alyaaf of Dharumavantha levelled matters.

The second half began with the same fashion the first half ended, with intense attacking style of play from either side. A quick goal firing period was witnessed as four goals were recorded in a 5 minute time period. The first of those came from Dharumavantha as they won a penalty in the 38^th minute, which Nahuzan Ahmed scored with confidence. In the minute that followed Yoosuf Nauhan Nasih increased Dharumavantha’s advantage and two minutes later Ali Dhain Jaufar made it 4-1 to Dharumavantha. However, in the 43^rd minute the game saw it’s last goal as Hassan Naavy of Iskandhar scored a stunner. Iskandhar still tried to get a winner in the 17 minutes that followed but all their attempts went in vain ending the game in a score of 4-2 with Dharumavantha taking all 3 points with a comeback win.

The game that followed saw Majeedhiyya take on Arabiyya. Both sides came into the game with losses from previous games. Majeedhiyya lost 9-0 to Iskandhar while Arabiyya lost 6-0 to Dharumavantha. The first half saw it’s only goal in the 11^th minute, courtesy of Mohamed Aalee of Majeedhiyya school. Despite their dominance which followed, they were unable to convert any opportunities into goals. The second half began with a much more dominant display from the reds as we saw Mohamed Aalee strike his second in the 42^nd minute. The same player scored another around ten minutes later completing his hat-trick. That was followed by Ahmed Hamdh Mohamed’s strike in the last minute, which finished matters, 4-0 in favour of Majeedhiyya.

These results in group A means that Dharumavantha are with 6 points and now are almost certain of a spot in the quarters. If they lose to Majeedhiyya and Iskandhar wins against Arabiyya, then the quarter finalists will be decided on goal difference. Iskandhar and Majeedhiyya are level on points with 3 each. Arabiyya on the oher hand I knocked out of the tournament with a game in hand.

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