Nine-man Al Wahda on cloud nine THIS WAS THEIR SECOND TITLE OF THE SEASON, HAVING WON THE ARABIAN GULF SUPER CUP
Anine-man Al Wahda soaked in all the pressure towards the end to lift the Arabian Gulf Cup title for the second time in three years by beating Al Wasl 2-1 in an absorbing final at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday.
Al Wahda opened the scores in the 13th minute against the run of play.
Mourad Batna found Tareq Ahmad on the left with a measured through and the winger was given enough room to cut inside and find the right bottom corner of Humaid Abdullah’s net with a pinpoint right-footed effort.
A pumped up Al Wahda thereafter was all over the rival territory and Batna was mostly behind the Clarets’ threatening move.
The scores were doubled after the Moroccan delivered an accurate cross for Sebastian Tagliabue to nod home from the far post at the half an hour mark.
Immediately after that, the Argentinian had another opportunity to swell his goals tally to eight when he stole a miscue from Al Wasl goalkeeper Abdullah but his finish from a tight angle ended up on the side nettings.
For the Cheetahs, Ronaldo Mendes after the change of ends, in 61st minute to be precise, reduced the margin with a header after being set with an accurate cross by Anthony Caceres.
The match swung heavily in Al Wasl’s favour after Al Wahda was reduced to 10 men, with a good 23 minutes remaining on clock.
Left-back Ahmad Rashid was given the marching orders following his second yellow card for a late challenge on Caio Canedo.
The Clarets’ troubles further accelerated 10 minutes from time when Mohammad Al Menhali was handed a straight red by the referee after a review showed him stepping on Abdullah Saleh.
Another silverware
Thereafter, Al Wahda was clearly under the pump and six minutes of added time looked like it was taking an eternity to finish. However, they somehow held their nerve to add another silverware to their collection this season.
Marwan Bin Ghalaita, President of the UAE Football Association, crowned Al Wahda as champions in the presence of Pro League Committee executive office members; Mohammad Ahmad Al Yahri Al Hammadi, Jamal Al Merri and Abdul Hamid Al Mestaka.
Thursday’s Arabian Gulf Cup final between Al Wahda and Al Wasl also entered the game’s history records as the first football match ever to be fully broadcast through Virtual Reality technology. Football fans from across the globe watched the game through the Virtual Seat Project, launched by the Pro League Committee in association with Etisalat and Media Pro.
The ‘Etisalat VR’ app which is available on Android and iOS, broadcasts matches through VR technology using the dedicated glasses which enables viewers to follow and engage with every aspect of the match, including replays and match statistics on virtual screens.