Brighton College Under-9 ‘A’ football team got their season off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory over Al Yasmina, but their U11 sides suffered defeats in the Abu Dhabi International School Sports Association’s competitions.
Captain Thomas Nesbitt led his side to a hard-fought victory in their away match at Al Yasmina.
After a close 10 minutes, Brighton broke the deadlock when Qaiser Giles ran away from his marker and slotted the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal. The visitors then enjoyed possession for much of the game and doubled the lead through Hassan El Dada.
The goal encouraged the home side to attack, but Brighton’s defence, led by Lucas Wood, kept Al Yasmina at bay. despite them pulling one back. Meanwhile, the school’s U9 ‘B’ team played out an entertaining goalless draw against Al Yasmina.
In another game, Brighton’s U11 ‘A’ team were edged 4-2 by Al Yasmina. Brighton created some early chances but failed to convert them into goals.
Despite Brighton pushing forward they couldn’t get the third goal. Al Yasmina players grew in confidence as the match went on and forced some smart saves from Brighton’s Darragh McSporran.
In the next match, Al Yasmina’s U11 ‘B’ side won 5-1 against Brighton. Dominating the game, the hosts were 5-0 up before Caleb Maijeh pulled one back in the dying minutes of the game.
Meanwhile, Al Mushrif rallied from behind to defeat Al Muna Primary School 3-1.
Having gone behind early in the first half, Al Mushrif responded well to keep the score at 1-0.
Al Mushrif got back into the game through an equaliser from Thani Al Romaithi just before half-time.
With the game locked at 1-1 at half-time, there was everything to play for and Al Mushrif gained the momentum soon after the break. Mohammed Idris and Ahmed Taha combined well to shore up the defence as Al Mushrif went in search of the winner.
But Al Mushrif’s Khalifa Al Mheiri, Rashid Al Hameli andAbdulla Al Fahim rotated well in midfield and created chances.
With just three minutes to go, Al Mushrif’s Jaden Miranda took possession of the ball in the Al Muna box, pulled away from his marker and unleashed a powerful shot from the tightest of angles to put his side ahead.
And Al Mushrif made it 3-1 through a fantastic 30-yard strike from Suhail Al Tamimi.
