02 Feb 2023
Aspire Academy’s football department hosted, on Saturday 28 and Tuesday 31 January 2023, its first overseas opponents since 2020, when the global Covid-19 pandemic began, as the under-15 squad took on their counterparts from Kuwait.
The academy enjoyed wins in two training matches, which were part of a six-day training camp that Kuwait’s under-15 squad held at Aspire.
The Football Department’s technical director Edorta Murua emphasised the importance of such friendly matches.
“I am glad that we can once again welcome teams from outside Qatar as we bid to continue the development of our student-athletes,” Murua explained.
“These games not only give us an idea of our competitive level but help us highlight key areas for us to work on going forward.”
“It is always a pleasure to welcome youngsters to the academy as it gives our student-athletes to experience playing against the best teams from the region.”
“Earning the two wins was a good sign for our under-15’s but we also know that we need to continue improving. We will study all the video footage of the two games and asses the parts that we need to work on.”
Zaid Ktit impressed as he scored a brace in both matches as Aspire won 3-1 on Saturday 28 January and then 2-1 three days later.
His two goals in the opening game came after Ward Alzoughbi had given the academy a 13th minute lead while Mohammad Almulla pulled one back for Kuwait.
On Tuesday both sides ended the match with 10 men after Aspire Academy’s Karam Malak and Kuwait’s Yousef Alshammari were both dismissed for two bookable offences.
Ktit had headed Aspire Academy into the lead in the first half before Mesfer Aladwani bundled home the equalizer. The goal came after Aspire Academy goalkeeper Ahmed Abouetah had made a good save but could only the ball with a second effort blocked on the line before Aladwani finally scored.
The winner came in the closing minutes of the match as Ktit got in behind the defence to beat the Kuwait keeper.