Ali Thameem
For the first time in nine years, long-time rivals New Radiant and Club Valencia have faced each other in the Dhivehi Premier League.
Wednesday evening’s game saw New Radiant turn things around in the second half.
New Radiant made seven shots in a goalless first half, while Valencia had decent chances missed early on in the game as well.
It was New Radiant’s top scorer, Ali Fasir, who finally opened the goal, just before the hour mark. An early cross from Nikson had strayed off the head of a Valencia defender before it fell into Sentey’s territory – the centre of the box – from where he headed it into the near post.
Ali Fasir scored another in the 83rd minute – a chip from the penalty spot, to seal the victory. This was the fifth goal of the season by Sentey.
It was also the tenth goal of New Radiant. They are the only team yet to concede a single goal in the DPL this season.
New Radiant returned to the pitch on the back of two wins, against TC Sports in the opening week, followed by a 2-0 win against United Victory.
The Blues are currently equal with Maziya, both on both points and on goal difference. The third team who keeps a winning streak is Odi Sports. They will play against Victory SC this evening.
Valencia and New Radiant – the iconic Maldivian rivalry which stretches back to almost half a century – had last faced each other in the DPL just over nine years ago. They had faced each other three times in the 2016 season, but Valencia failed to win any. After a 1-1 draw in June, New won the next two confrontations; a 2-0 win in August followed by a 1-0 win in September.
Valencia were then relegated after losing the playoffs. By the time Valencia were promoted back into the DPL, New Radiant had been suspended by the Bassam administration.
Ever since the Dhivehi Premier League format was established a decade ago, the only time Valencia won against New Radiant was back in November 2015, when they defeated New by 4 goals to 2.
