The UAE asserted their dominance over ice hockey in the Middle East as they beat Kuwait 3-1 in Abu Dhabi to retain their Gulf Cup crown.
Ali Al Haddad opened the scoring for the home side with 03:23 remaining of the first period, before Juma Al Dhaheri doubled the advantage midway through the second.
Mohamed Al Doaij gave Kuwait hope going into the final third as he cut the deficit but after a physical period, Al Dhaheri made sure of the win with 02:07 of the game to go.
The victory ensured the UAE ended their season on a high and held on to the trophy they won last year.
In front of a fervent crowd at the Ice Rink in Zayed Sports City, the game began at a frenetic pace akin to the pair’s meeting in the round robin stage.
Kuwait suffered four penalties in the period, and it was not a surprise therefore when the UAE scored at a time when they had a man advantage. Al Haddad finishing off after Al Dhaheri had provided the assist.
The provider then turned scorer as the forward, who also doubled as president of the tournament’s organising committee, fired past Jasem Al Sraf after good work from the UAE’s Man of the Match, Omar Al Shamsi.
The final period was a tense affair, with the home side spending much of it camped inside the Kuwait half but unable to find a way past Al Sraf. That changed with a little over two minutes on the clock though as Mohamed Aref broke free down the right before his smash across goal was turned home again by Al Dhaheri.
UAE head coach Yuri Faikov was critical of his players after their shoot-out victory over the same opponents on Wednesday night. And while he was happy they were able to get their hands on the trophy but was left far from impressed with the way they had done it against a team he believes the UAE should be beating a lot more comfortably.
“From July to June is a very long season I guess; and the power, I didn’t see fire and ice,” he said. “There was a little bit better play. I am happy about the result but about the performance and quality of the game, 50-50.”
Faikov admitted his side suffered from nerves ahead of the game, but also took aim at the way the match was handled by officials, Jason Crown, Rayan Hornblower and James Prette.
“Everyone was a little bit nervous, scared to make mistakes,” he added. “Because of this it was not so good a game, and the referees also. The referees didn’t keep the game in their hands.”
The triumphant UAE players will now enjoy a break until after Ramadan, when they will start their preparations for the World Championship qualifiers.
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