Salman Farsi School head coach Mohammad Rahmatollah might well be playing mind games when he describes LFI Georges Pompidou as NSL champions or he might just be paying them the respect they deserve.
– Al Jazira: Abel Braga sacked with club lying 12th
Rahmatollah saw his Under-16 side join the U-14s in the NSL knockout rounds after a stunning final day in Dubai Pool 1. Salman Farsi beat The Millennium School Dubai 3-1 at The Sevens, coming back from a goal down to not only win but supersede TMS in the quarter-finals.
Mohammed Memon opened the scoring for TMS but Amirhossein Rahpeima’s brace and a Ali Mallaie strike saw them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and with it a coveted place in the last eight.
TMS had been unbeaten until the final two weeks of the season but defeat to Pool 1 winners LFI in the penultimate week meant a win for Salman Farsi on Saturday would see them qualify in second behind the rampant French school.
“We’ve been a good team but today’s game was do or die,” said Rahmatollah. “We win, and we go through, but we lose, and we go out. Although we were losing in the second half the guys picked it up and we won 3-1.
“We are still in the tournament and hopefully we can go all the way to the final from here. The only speech we gave to the boys was if you want to stay you’ve got to win. It’s up to you, not the coaches. They played their game and we are happy.”
Salman Farsi lost 5-0 to LFI in October and Rahmatollah believes the group winners are unstoppable, although he is looking forward to facing them again in the final.
“We all know LFI is the best team, but we hope to play them,” he said. “We know we won’t beat them but we would love another chance to stand against them in the final. Even if we come second we can still hold our heads high.”
Elsewhere in the Dubai and Sharjah U-16 section, Salman Farsi and LFI will be joined in the last eight by The Indian High School and Delhi Private School Dubai who progressed thanks to 3-0 wins on Saturday.
Alkamal American School’s 9-1 victory over New Indian Model School Sharjah saw them take runners-up spot behind DPS Sharjah.
