Maziya Sports and Recreation has secured a spot in the final by defeating TC Sports Club 1-0 in the semi-final of the League Cup 2025 organized by the Football Association of Maldives (FAM). In the match played this evening at the National Football Stadium, Maziya got a good opportunity as soon as the first half began. However, TC’s defender Hamdoon blocked the chance that fell to Hassan Raif (Hanna). Shortly after, Maziya midfielder Ahmed Aiham’s shot from outside the area went wide. In the 17th minute, Hamza Mohamed (Hampu) created Maziya’s third attack, but TC goalkeeper Sujan skillfully defended this attempt. 11 minutes after this attack, Hamza launched another dangerous assault. The powerful shot he fired after entering the penalty area was saved by TC’s goalkeeper who leapt up to defend.
While many attacks were seen from Maziya during the match, a notable attempt came in the 34th minute when Portuguese defender Luis headed a corner kick for Maziya, but the ball went just wide of the goalpost. Maziya’s efforts to score a goal culminated in the 38th minute. With the assistance of Ali Fasir, Hussain Shifau’s shot from outside the area went over the goalkeeper’s head and into the corner of the goal. This is Shifau’s second match playing in Maziya’s starting eleven in this tournament. The first half of this match, competing for a spot in the final, ended with Maziya leading 1-0. While many attacks were seen from Maziya in this half, TC displayed mostly defensive play. TC also failed to create any significant attacks during this half.
The second half also saw Maziya dominating possession. Hamza, who created many attacks in the first half, aimed another shot at TC’s goal in the first minute of this half. In the 53rd minute, Maziya’s Hassan Raif Ahmed’s cross was defended by TC goalkeeper Sujan Perera. In the 57th minute, after Ahmed Aiham dribbled past three players and passed to Ali Fasir, the ball was crossed back towards the goal, but once again TC goalkeeper Sujan intervened. TC started to push forward more towards the end of the match. Their best chance to score came in the 59th minute when Maiz received a loose ball in Maziya’s penalty area, but his powerful shot hit the side post and went out.
In the 78th minute, TC’s Maish dribbled past the goalkeeper from outside the area and passed the ball into the box, which Ahsam put into the net. However, the referee ruled it as an offside goal, leading to strong appeals from TC players and officials. TC officials expressed dissatisfaction with the referee’s decision, resulting in a red card being shown to a TC official. Additionally, in the 85th minute, a TC player was shown a red card and sent off, further hindering TC’s efforts to get a result from the match. Ahnaf Mohamed, who came on to play in the 80th minute, was shown a red card after exchanging verbal attacks with Maziya’s Aisam, following which both players were shown yellow cards, but Ahnaf said something more. With the match time completed and 5 minutes of additional time played, Maziya continued to create many dangerous attacks during this period. The team Maziya will face in the final of this tournament will be determined by the result of tonight’s match between Odi Sports Club and New Radiant.
