Al Nasr scrape past Ittihad Kalba
dubai — Al Nasr won their third match on the trot, while Ittihad Kalba suffered their third successive defeat in the 22nd round of the Arabian Gulf League.
Dan Petrescu’s men were 2-1 winners on the night at the Al Maktoum Stadium, a result that took them to sixth on the table with 35 points, two points behind fifthplaced Al Wahda.
And it should be an interesting race for the top of the table spots with four League fixtures left to play out.
It was the Blue Wave’s 11th victory and their sixth at their fortress and it came through midfielders Ahmed Khamis and Salem Saleh’s fifth and fourth goals in the League, respectively.
Al Nasr’s two wins before this were against Al Sharjah, a solitary goal victory and then a 4-0 mauling of Al Shabab, who have been a bit under the pump recently.
After Khamis and Saleh had scored on 22 and 80 minutes respectively, Ittihad Kalba’s Malian striker Modibo Maiga had given Al Nasr a bit of a scare by reducing the deficit. But the former West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers forward’s goal, his ninth in the competition, came a tad too late, a minute from time.
Kalba languish in 12th, their 13th loss and their sixth on the road leaving them with 17 points, five points from the relegation zone.
Al Nasr were up and away on 22 minutes with Khamis tapping home Wanderley’s inch perfect cross. A one-goal lead was still like living on the edge though, especially against a Kalba team, who had stunned Al Shabab, not so long ago, in January.
And a cushion to that lead duly arrived, 10 minutes from time, with Salem Saleh, on for Wanderley, working his way past Kalba shot stopper Ibrahim Essa and tucking it into an empty net. Kalba then threatened through Ciel but the former Al Shabab and Al Ahli striker’s freekick hit the woodwork. Maiga got Kalba on the scoresheet by popping up to head home Ciel’s corner but there wasn’t time left on the clock to mount a fightback.
james@khaleejtimes.com