Ali Thameem
Maziya Sports and Recreation has kept up its unrelenting form through to the mid-season break, as the defending champions pulled off a comeback against New Radiant Sports Club this evening.
The first match of week nine saw these two great clubs, that dominated two different eras of Maldivian football, face each other for the first time in seven years. Going into today’s game, Maziya already had a seven-point gap between them and the Blues, who remain in third position behind Odi Sports Club.
New Radiant were the ones to score the opening goal, ten minutes into the first half. Their Brazilian forward, Guillermo Silva, headed in the long cross by Ali Fasir.
Maziya was able to nullify the score line just before half-time, as the winger Ahmed Aiham scored from an assist by the former New Radiant wonderkid, Hamza Mohamed.
Hamza, who started his professional career wearing the blue jersey of New Radiant, was the one who dealt the painful final blow to them this evening, as he scored the winning goal just fifteen minutes left on the clock.
Hamza and Aiham’s great chemistry was what stood out this evening; Aiham was the one to break through on the flank and provide the assist for Hampu.
New Radiant heads into the mid-season break having failed to win all three games of November. They had settled for a 2-2 draw against Green Streets before the international break. They lost one of the most pivotal games of the season against Odi Sports Club last week.
The loss against Maziya puts a ten-point gap between the two clubs, as the Green Boys have grabbed the full 27 points in nine games of the season so far.
