DPL: easy wins for Maziya and Valencia

Maziya Sports and Recreation Club thrashed Club Green Streets with a 7-1 score in Saturday night’s match of the Dhivehi Premier League, while Club Valencia beat United Victory (UV) in the earlier match.

Valencia beat UV with a 4-0 score in the first match of the day.

While both teams found opportunities to score in the first half of the game, most were defended by the respective goalkeepers. However, Valencia took the lead within five minutes of halftime, with Ali Fasir catching the net following a pass by captain Ali Ashfaq.

The team captain scored the second goal, six minutes after the second half started.

The club had more chances to score during the half, and was able to widen its lead at the 69th minute with another pass by Ashfaq completed by Fasir.

The fourth and final match of the game was scored within 10 minutes to the whistle, by Abdulla Midh’hath Fahmy.

Speaking to the press after the match, Club Valencia’s coach Mohamed Athif expressed content that their "game plan is going well” and that they were able to win the first two matches of the league and earn six points in the table. However, he said that the players fitness “needs improvement”.

UV’s coach, Mohamed Adam said that they were at a disadvantage given that their starting forward was unable to play due to an injury, and added that they will work on changing up their match formation.

While Valencia has earned six points with two wins, United Victory lost both its previous matches.

Maziya VS Club Green Streets

Maziya Sports and Recreation Club has also won both its matches in the Dhivehi Premier League, with Saturday’s win against Club Green Streets.

Last season’s champions took the lead early on in the match, with a goal by Naaiz Hassan at the 16th minute. Captain Asadhulla Abdulla scored the team’s second goal in the 36th minute.

Maziya came out even stronger in the second half, with multiple attacks at Green Street’s side. Within in eight minutes after the start of the half, Ibrahim Aisam scored the team’s third goal and widened the lead.

Club Green Street’s Angel Munoz scored the team’s first and only goal of the match shortly after, at the 58th minute.

However, Asadhulla scored his second goal of the match about a minute later, while Mohamed Irfan widened the lead further with the team’s fifth goal at the 72nd minute.

Maziya was awarded a penalty towards the end of the game after a foul by Green Streets’ Mohamed Farhan which resulted in a red card. While Cornelius Stewart’s penalty kick was successful, the team’s last goal was scored by Hamza Mohamed during overtime.

Speaking after the match, Maziya’s coach Mohamed Nizam said he was satisfied with the result. Noting the players improvement to the previous match, Nizam said that there is still room to do so.

Green Streets’ Ali Nisthaaru expressed disappointment in the result and said that the match has been "a lesson" in many ways. He added that the team will continue work to better their game.

With Saturday’s loss, Club Green Streets lost both their matches in the Dhivehi Premier League.