Al Ahli go top of table after Al Wahda rout
Red Knights in command after 3-0 victory at home
dubai — Hosts Al Ahli jumped to league leadership in the 19th round of the AGL soccer championship, when they outplayed 10-man Al Wahda 3-0, on Friday night.
Going into the second half with a 1-0 lead thanks to part-time striker Ciel, the Red Knights consolidated their position when Everton Ribeiro and Habib Al Fardhan found the mark during injury time.
Ribeiro put the finishing touches to a superb Sow through pass to seal the issue beyond doubt (2-0) in added time (90+1). Sow assisted once more, in the final minute of injury time (90+3), as Al Fardhan diverted the fine cross into the Wahda goal (3-0).
Just before halftime, Al Wahda lost star player Jorge Valdivia after he was shown two yellow cards continuously (45th and 46th minutes).
“I never complain about referees, not in my 40 years on the job. My job is to take care of my team. We played well tonight (Friday) but conceded an early goal through a
I never complain about referees, not in my 40 years on the job. My job is to take care of my team. We played well tonight (Friday) but conceded an early goal through a defensive lapse
Javier Aguirre, Al Wahda coach
defensive lapse,” said Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre.
“Finally the two chances we missed in the early part of the season has come to this point, of where are finally leading the standings. But this should not be the pre-occupation of our lads and our mindset, and we should learn to get rid of the doubt factor despite the many tough matches we have been put through recently. This should actually toughen us,” said Cosmin Olaroiu, Al Ahli coach.
Ciel got things moving for the home team in the 11th minute when off a loose unguarded ball just inside the Al Wahda halfline, he darted forward threateningly and laid out a good pass all along the ground. The ball deflected off a defender’s leg, and Ciel without wasting time had a sort of a warmup kind of a right foot drive which went to the left of goalie Al Hosani who slipped in the process (1-0).
Al Wahda retaliated six minutes later but Salmin Khamis saved the hosts by tackling Wahda’s Sebastian Tagliabue. In the 25th minute, Al Ahli, getting back to their early half touch, floated a beautiful curler which Wahda keeper Adel Al Ahosani did well to parry it low to his right.
Later, Al Ahli’s Moosa Sow and defender Khamis got into the act with a fine combined move to raid the visitors’ citadel but keeper Al Hosani did well again, plucking the ball away in time from the menacing Red Knights’ duo in the 31st minute.
There was little former UAE superstar and national captain Ismael Matar of Al Wahda could do except for a well taken freekick in the later part of the first session, which Ahli skipper and keeper Majid Naser covered up in time to prevent damage.
There were some heated words exchanged after Jorge Valdivia who was red-carded in injury time, hit Ismail Al Hamidi on the head while trying to dribble past him. The first 15 minutes after the lemon break, saw a listless period with nothing much to talk about except for an exceptional save by the visitors’ goaltender Al Hosani who dived to save an ankle high deflection off a move initiated by Ribeiro. Later, Ciel came up with a fantastic on the platter measured pass to exactly the penalty spot area but all his teammates running in to tap the ball in, missed the curler.