Male, Maldives (October 15) - Road Recreation Club (RRC) and Club WAMCO emerged victorious in their semi-final matches, setting the stage for a rematch of last year's Club Maldives Cup final.
WAMCO triumphed over Stelco Club in their semi-final match, winning 3-2, while RRC defeated three-time champions MPL in a penalty shootout, 7-5.
The defending champions, WAMCO, took an early lead with a goal from man of the match, Mohamed Azzam. This was followed by a goal from Iranian player Ali Reza, who doubled WAMCO's advantage. Reza initially had a goal ruled out for a foul on a Stelco player.
In their first-ever semi-final appearance, Stelco fought back in the second half, with their first goal coming from an own goal after a quickly taken corner. Jumail Jameel, one of Stelco's standout performers, later scored the equalizer. They came close to taking the lead but hit the post instead.
Off the bench, Ismail Wajeeh (Wajje) netted a stunning goal, securing WAMCO's spot in the final once again. Wajje has proven to be a reliable impact substitute in recent Club Maldives matches.
In the second semi-final, RRC's Abdulla Midhuhath Fahmy (Bichard) found himself unmarked near the far post and seized the opportunity to score the opening goal, assisted by Ali Haafiz (Haappe) from a free kick. RRC's captain, Ibrahim Aswadh (Gabey), then scored the team's second goal.
Ahmed Bassam Mohamed put MPL on the scoreboard with their first goal. In the final seconds of the first half, RRC conceded their sixth foul, resulting in a long-range penalty, which Ali Shamal Abdulla converted to level the match.
In the second half, Ahmed Rizwan (Rizey) scored to give RRC the lead. However, RRC's Ibrahim Sinah received a second yellow card and was sent off, allowing MPL to equalize with a goal from Ali Fasir (Sentey).
During the penaltyn shootout, Sentey and Ahmed Nizam missed their penalties for MPL, while Ali Shamis (Thoppey) failed to score for RRC. Bichard, Abdulla Yaameen, Rizey, and Shanan Rashad successfully converted their penalties for RRC, while Mohamed Dhanish and Ibrahim Atheeg scored for MPL.
The final between RRC and WAMCO is set to take place this Friday night. Last year, WAMCO defeated RRC by 5-3 in the final.
