Gulf Today

Al Ain thrash struggling Dibba; Kalba, Bani Yas share spoils in mid-table clash

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AL AIN: Al Ain earned an easy 4-0 win over Dibba at the Tahnoun Bin Mohamed Stadium in matchweek 11 of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday.

After a couple of attempts by Husain El Shahat and Caio Fernandes in the early stages of the game, Marcus Berg managed to break the deadlock on the 15-minute mark. Dibba keeper Mohamed Salem made a fine first save to Caio’s shot but the rebound fell for the Swedish forward who slotted home easily.

The hosts needed only four minutes to double their lead. Following impressive individual effort by El Shahat, the Egypt internatio­nal dribbled past the Dibba defender and scored past Salem to make it 2-0.

Fifteen minutes ahead of the break, Juma Masud’s effort was diverted into a corner by Al Ain keeper Khalid Eissa. This marked one of the first real chances of Dibba in the first half of the game.

Despite their 2-0 advantage, the Boss continued to push forward after halftime, hoping to further extend their lead. Just three minutes after the restart, Berg netted his side’s third goal and completed his brace. The 32-year-old forward found Caio’s accurate pass outside of the box before hitting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

Two minutes later, Caio turned from provider to a scorer and got his name into the scoresheet to make it 4-0. The Brazilian put in a stellar individual effort, slaloming through Dibba’s defenders before converting into the left corner of the net.

In the 64th minute, Al Ain came close to scoring a fifth goal but Tsukasa Shiotani’s effort hit the woodwork. With 10 minutes to go, the Sailors attempted to reduce the deficit but Eissa denied Driss Fettouhi to keep a clean sheet.

Al Ain now move to the top of the standings temporaril­y on 25 points awaiting the rest of matchweek 10 matches. They are one point above Sharjah and three above Al Jazira, who still have a game in hand each. Dibba, on the other hand, continue their disappoint­ing performanc­es as they linger at the bottom of the table on four points only.

KALBA, BANI YAS DRAW

Ittihad Kalba were held to a 0-0 draw by Bani Yas at the Ittihad Kalba Stadium in matchweek 11 of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday.

Just four minutes after kick-off, Kalba had their first real chance as Bani Yas keeper Fahad Mohamed Aldhanhani pulled off a save to deny Tommy Reyes.

Two minutes before the half-hour mark, Suhail Ahmed Alnoobi was denied by Kalba keeper Jamal Ismail as the game remained goalless.

Both sides had a number of attempts in the rest of the first half but none of them managed to cause a real threat on goal as they headed into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.

Early in the second half, Bani Yas tried to push forward in an attempt to open the scoring. Alnoobi had a chance to hit the back of the net in the 53rd minute but Ismail pulled off another save to keep a clean sheet.

Just three minutes later, the hosts responded as Balazs Dzsudzsak tried his luck but was denied by Aldhanhani. The Emirati keeper continued to impress as he saved Giovanni Sio’s effort in the 64th minute.

Bani Yas seemed to be close to opening the scoring as they were awarded a penalty 20 minutes from time. However, the guests missed this golden chance as Pedro Conde’s effort went above the bar. The guests wasted another chance to score the winner as Leroy George went one-on-one with the keeper before hitting the side netting.

One minute from full time, Kalba players protested to the referee after they had a penalty appeal turned down as Reyes claimed to have been fouled by the keeper inside the penalty box.

Following the draw, Bani Yas and Kalba remain tied on 12 points in the seventh and eighth place, respective­ly.

This marked the second goalless draw in the 2018/19 league campaign after Bani Yas and Al Nasr played out a 0-0 draw in matchweek 10.

 ??  ?? Players of Ittihad Kalba and Bani Yas vie for the ball during their Arabian Gulf League match on Thursday.
Players of Ittihad Kalba and Bani Yas vie for the ball during their Arabian Gulf League match on Thursday.

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