Al Ain rout Al Wasl; Ajman, Jazira draw as Wahda win
dubai — Al Ain dethroned Al Wasl from the top of the Arabian Gulf League standings with a thumping 3-1 win over The Cheetahs at the Zabeel Stadium on Friday.
Goals from Ismaeel Ahmed (27), Omar Abdulrahman (71) and Husain El Shahat (77) took The Boss to 28 points and in the bargain also ensured that Al Wasl’s unbeaten run was ended after 12 games.
Reigning champions Al Jazira stumbled to a 1-1 draw against Ajman at Rashid bin Saeed Stadium.
Defender Rashed Malallah Juma stunned the visitors halfway through the second half when the ball fell for Azizbek Haydarov following a poor defensive clearance. The Uzbek midfielder’s shot on the half-volley was nodded home by the defender to put Ajman ahead.
The Oranges’ lead lasted just four minutes, as striker Ahmed Al Hashemi, starting in Ali Mabkhout’s absence, rose highest to head home Yaqoob Al Hosani’s cross from the free-kick to restore parity in the 72nd minute.
Meanwhile at the Fujairah Stadium, Al Wahda fought back from a goal down to record a 3-1 win over Dibba. The hosts opened the scoring at the half-hour mark when their new Brazilian player Rodolfo da Silva saw off the challenge of Mohamed Al Dhaheri to finish the ball into the far post of Al Wahda goalkeeper Mohamed Al Shamsi, to score on his debut.
Laurentiu Reghecampf’s side turned the match around after the break with three goals. The Clarets equalised two minutes after the hour mark, when Mourad Batna was tackled in the box by Dibba goalkeeper Fahd Mohamed, resulting in a penalty which was converted by Balazs Dzsudzsak.
The Clarets doubled their score in the 77th minute when Sultan Al Ghafri sent a pinpoint cross from the right wing, which was stabbed in by Mohamed Al Akberi.
Three minutes later, Sebastian Tagliabue rounded the scoring for the visitors as Batna found space inside the 18-yard-box from the right side, before squaring for the Argentine who finished into the empty net.