RIYADH: 3BS and Turbo grabbed the last two quarterfinal slots in Kings League MENA Split 1, edging past ABO FC and Rising Peaks in the standings on an action-packed last day of league phase action at Cool Arena in Riyadh. RA2 and Red Zone also confirmed their places.
Friday’s results set up Monday’s quarterfinal clashes as follows: Red Zone vs. RA2, Turbo vs. Ultra Chmicha, DR7 vs 3BS. Fwaz’s FWZ have already booked their place in the semifinals by finishing top of the table.
Saudi Arabia’s RA2 FC, led by Raed, secured their place with a commanding 7-2 victory over ABO FC that eliminated AboFlah’s team from the competition. Extending a winning streak since Matchday 6, RA2 made an early statement through goalkeeper Eloy Amoedo, who opened the scoring on two minutes. RA2 scored three superb goals through Hussam Tah, David Reyes and Nawaf Saleh to pull ahead of ABO in the middle period. To close out the game, RA2’s leading goalscorer and two-time Match MVP Mark Sorroche scored a penalty and then the decisive goal in Matchball Mode.
Egypt’s Turbo, led by Tarboun, secured a 4-2 victory over Morocco’s Bakhira FC to qualify for the quarterfinals. Bakhira got off to the worst possible start when Luis “Boolt” Henrique got sent off in the first seconds for a foul on his 1v1 opponent. Bakhira, led by co-presidents Achraf Sabiri and Younes Zarou, stayed in contention through Mehdi Gacem, who scored a penalty. Achraf Sabiri missed his President Penalty with the score poised at 2-2. Tarboun then scored his President Penalty to give Turbo a 3-2 lead going into Matchball Mode. Youssef Elnabarawy proved instrumental for Turbo, scoring in the 23rd minute before striking again in the 41st minute to seal the winning goal. The result confirmed Turbo’s place in the quarterfinals, while Bakhira FC, who were eliminated on Matchday 8, concluded their Split 1 journey with another defeat.
Absi’s 3BS beat the already-qualified DR7 in a heart-stopping shootout after the match finished 4-4 at 36 minutes. The game got off to a frantic start with no less than three goals inside the first minute, leaving 3BS 2-1 up. Both Dr7bh and Absi missed their President Penalty in the second half. 3BS star striker Moussa Sao was the hero in the shootout, scoring the winning, sudden death goal and giving his team a fighting chance of quarterfinal qualification.
3BS’s win was not enough as a win by Rising Peaks over Maherco’s Red Zone in the following game would have put Peaks through. But Red Zone broke the hearts of Rising Peaks fans with an 8-5 victory that knocked Al-Shehri’s team out and simultaneously secured quarterfinal qualification for fellow Jordanians 3BS. Both sides scored their President Penalty, with Abdullah Al-Drees slotting home for Peaks before Ali Mousa scored his seventh President Penalty of the competition in the second half. An unanswered four-goal burst in the second half put Maherco’s side firmly in control of the match, and they went into Matchball Mode 7-4 up. Eihab Hooba clawed one back for Peaks before Jero Martin scored the winner on 41 minutes.
Despite both teams already being qualified after Matchday 8, Ultra Chmicha vs. FWZ was a lively match in which the lead changed hands several times before Ilyas Elmaliki’s Moroccan side finally secured the win. Ultra Chmicha grabbed the initiative with a double goal on 33 minutes and then another before Matchball Mode to put them 7-4 going into the decisive phase. FWZ’s table-toppers fought back with two goals before Walid Jaadi finally put the game to rest on 41 minutes. The result lifted Ultra Chmicha to third position, with FWZ remaining top.
Monday’s quarterfinals will set the stage for the season’s decisive showdown, with the Final Four on Oct. 30 set to crown the Split 1 champion.