Defiant Dilly to bounce back

LAST YEAR'S GulfWeekly Eight-a-Side Expat League runners-up The Dilmun Club continued their miserable start to the new campaign with a second defeat, writes Mai Al Khatib.

After a trouncing at the hands of Saar Eagles, the side that looked like walking away with the title for much of last season until they were unstuck on the final hurdle, are lacking confidence.

The aging side came a cropper last week against the Royal Riffa 'Wee Monty' in a close encounter which ended 3-2.

Defiant club captain David Lord believes it's only a matter of time before the Dilly Boys are back firing on all cylinders. He said: "We played with an under strength side due to players not being available because of work commitments. We struggled against tough opponents but we'll be back!

"There's no hangover from last season. It will be tough as there are some young legs out there this year but spirits are high in the camp."

The Dilmun's evergreen forward Eamon Egan scored and defender Chris Binnion put away a penalty but the side had no answer to Wee Monty's hat trick hero, Scott Lee.

Arabian Celts narrowly slipped to defeat against a strong Oak FC, (formerly known as the Rugby Club) by a single goal scored by Stuart Smith.

For 35 minutes the Celts held firm with stand-in goalkeeper Mario Gabrael performing heroics with three great saves in the first half.

With 35 minutes on the clock a free kick was awarded to Oak FC and Smith powered home a 20-yard thunderbolt.

For the next 15 minutes, the Arabian Celts created chance after chance and did not stop working until the final whistle blew. Celts captain Paul Keown said: "Many a natural observer would say that this was the best game of the night due to the open and clean play produced by both teams. Tonight we play Neverlusen and it is a 'must win' game for us."

Oak FC team manager, Terry Churchill, said: "The Arabian Celts are a much improved team and put up a good fight. The Celts goalkeeper made four exceptional saves and there were a few missed chances so the scoreline could have been very different.

"We controlled most of the game but goals were proving to be elusive. However, near the end the Celts had a good chance to equalise but fortunately the shot went narrowly wide.

"Overall, it was a well fought match butt we should have killed them off earlier. The Celts gave us a good run for our money. The game only emphasised the need to be clinical in the other team's box and finish our chances. We got the three points anyway which was the main objective."

Last Wednesday former champions Bayer Neverlusen were victorious 2-0 against St. Christopher's School. Bayer's captain, Tim Gillet, said: "It was an open game with each team having chances and both keepers making vital saves to keep the other out.

"The entire match was played at a high tempo with our keeper Bashir Mohar making a couple of really good saves.

"After Bayer went knocking on St. Christopher's door the dead lock was broken by our midfielder Matt Cross who finished in the bottom corner after some good passing by strikers Owen Coll and Chris Tricker."

In the second half, both teams played hard to get a result in front of goal. Bayer, in particular, upped the pressure which paid off when striker Chris Tricker scored the all important second, putting the game beyond St Christopher's reach.

Gillet added: "All in all, it was a very close game and a good spectacle for the many supporters."

The last fixture saw the Saar Eagles soar high over the British Club with a convincing 5-1 victory. British Club captain Raj Pahuja, said: "Our goal scorer was midfielder Scott Lambert who took an excellent free kick.

"I thought that the game was pretty tight in the first half and we had a lot of possession but gave some sloppy goals away and we lacked the finishing touch.

"We were beaten by a strong side although the scoreline didn't accurately reflect the game."

Saar Eagles goal scorers were James McCrystal with a brace and Sam Awadh, Dan Neimeyer and Hisham Zeidani each netting one apiece.

Saar captain Brian Cross, said: "It was an absolutely fantastic game."

On Monday evening the Dilmun Club played The British Club and Saar Eagles battled against Royal Riffa 'Wee Monty'.

Tonight St. Christopher School face Oak FC and Arabian Celts play Bayer Neverlusen.