New Radiant defeats Valencia 2-0 in DPL

New Radiant beat Valencia 2-0 in today’s Dhivehi Premier League match, with both goals scored in the second half by Ali Fasir (Sentey).

This match marked the first time in nine years that Valencia and New Radiant faced each other in the Premier League. Their last face off in the league was on September 20, 2016, when New Radiant won 1-0, following a goal from Ahmed Niyaz (Niyatte), who is now the coach of the national futsal team.

Although the two sides met in the Malé League in 2017 and 2018, Valencia failed to qualify for the Premier League those years. New Radiant were suspended for the 2019/2020 season, and Valencia were also suspended midway through that season on December 12, 2019.

New Radiant have returned to the Premier League after four seasons and have had a strong start, winning all three of their matches with 10 goals scored.

In today’s match, New Radiant had a good chance to score early, but Mohamed Irfan (Irrey) cleared the danger, and Guillaume Luis Gomez da Silva’s shot went over the bar. Valencia’s best early chance came from captain Ethan Ibrahim Zaki’s cross, which Abubakr Sila (Buba) headed just wide.

Captain Sentey had several chances in the first half, including two free kicks. One hit the wall, and the other was saved by Valencia’s goalkeeper Viorel Boian.

New Radiant came out stronger in the second half. In the 60th minute with a low cross from Da Silva deflected off a Valencia player, Sentey headed the ball into the net.

Sentey doubled the lead in the 82nd minute with a penalty after his shot struck Valencia's foreign defender's hand in the box.

Sentey was the most experienced player on the field and has now scored in all three of his league matches this season, with five goals in total.

New Radiant created more chances late in the match, but Valencia’s goalkeeper Boian made some impressive saves to keep the scoreline from growing.

Tonight’s other league match will be between Eagles and Green Streets.