Shabab Al Ahli rally to spoil Al Wahda’s party
abu dhabi — The flood lights were on and Al Wahda FC fans were out in numbers to welcome the players back at Al Nahyan Stadium during the eighth round of the Arabian Gulf League. The stadium is a venue for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 and was under renovation since start of the year. Al Nahyan Stadium can now host up to 15,000 fans.
However, Shabab Al Ahli played spoilsport as the visitors came from behind twice to return to Dubai with a 2-2 draw. Substitute Ismail Al Hammadi scored a second-half brace to sink Al Wahda.
Home players, goaded by legions of fans, were up and running early. Leonardo De Sousa missed a good chance in the eighth minute. But in the 33rd minute, Sebastian Tagliabue converted from a perfect pass by Hussain Abbas.
There were more chances on goal but Al Wahda lacked bite with finish. It was frenzied end to the first half with attacks and counter moves.
In 63 minutes, Al Hammadi drew level through a powerful volley. Minutes later, Al Wahda went ahead through a penalty. Al Ahli defender Salmin Khamis was penalised for handling and Leonardo made it 2-1 from the spot.
However, in the 83rd minute Al Hammadi drew level with another thunderbolt of a shot.
Al Wahda coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said it was an unhappy ending. “It was a nice atmosphere with the fans in the stadium. It is good to be back. I don’t like to lose points but this is football. We could have finished first half with a bigger margin but we missed 2-3 big chances. The result is disappointing as we let go goal advantage twice.” Photo by Ryan Lim
Al Wahda missed the services of a few players to injury.
“We had some injuries to Sautan Al Ghafri and Salem Sultan,” Reghecampf said and added: “I hope Mourad Batna is back for the next game.”
Al Wahda remain fourth with 14 points and play Fujairah on Monday. “We haven’t scored many goals in last few matches. I trust my players to come good. We will have to look into the issues in next three days as we have match coming up. We have built the team, go out there and win,” Reghecampf added.