Al Wahda thump Al Wasl to go third

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Al Wahda thump Al Wasl to go third
Al Wahda striker Sebastian Tagliabue (right) scores the second goal against Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday night

Dubai - The Clarets take position from Al Nasr with 3-0 win over The Cheetahs at home

By James Jose

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Published: Fri 22 Apr 2016, 11:15 PM

Last updated: Sat 23 Apr 2016, 1:32 AM

Al Wahda have temporarily taken third spot from Al Nasr after 'The Clarets' thumped 10-man Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League.
At least four teams are jousting for that vital third position in the UAE top flight which will earn them the right to contest in next season's AFC Champions League.
And Al Wahda nudged ahead of Al Nasr with a 3-0 win over 'The Cheetahs' at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi late on Friday night.
Defender Hamdan Al Kamali set them on the road with the opener, eight minutes in, after which Argentine frontman Sebastian Tagliabue, the League's top scorer increased his tally to 23 by scoring the second on 29 minutes. Chilean international Jorge Validivia then wrapped it up with the third, five minutes from time.
Al Wasl were left to play the remainder of the 29 minutes with 10 men after Hazza Salem was given a straight red card by referee Sultan Mohamed Saleh after the defender had halted Matar's bursting run by pushing him down to the ground.
Al Wahda's 12th win and their eighth at home gave Javier Aguirre's men 39 points, two points ahead of Al Nasr.
Al Nasr could retake that third spot if they win at home against champions-in-waiting Al Ahli at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Al Wasl's eighth defeat and seventh on the road left them in sixth with 36 points. The damning defeat more or less dented their chances, especially coming on the back of a 1-1 draw against Al Sharjah at home last week.
Al Wahda didn't take long to get past the gates with Hamdan Al Kamali giving the lead after the spadework was done by their talisman Ismail Matar.
The veteran, Al Wahda's captain, laid through a fantastic pass from the left and Hamdan Al Kamali took a first time shot which was more opportunistic than anything.
Luckily enough, his low left-footer wrong footed goalkeeper Yousef Abdulla, who was perhaps not expecting it. And though he made a desperate dive to his right and got a hand to it, the ball had won the battle.
Hugo Viana threatened at the other end on 13 minutes but his left-footed freekick from the tip of the box, just whizzed past the left post.
Al Wahda doubled the lead with a minute to go heading into the half hour with Tagliabue slotting into an open goal after he had drawn Yousef Abdulla out, following a long ball from Sultan Alghafri.
The Argentine ace could have got a second to his name moments later after he latched onto a neat through from Valdivia. But Yousef Abdulla negated the threat by blocking it before Tagliabue could do any damage.
Yousef Abdulla was called into action again and he did well to deny Tagliabue again, with four minutes left in the half.
Tagliabue then turned provider by squaring one up from the right to give Valdivia the simplest of tap-ins, five minutes from time.
Al Wahda were denied a fourth after substitute Mohamed Alakberi's swerving left-footer hit the woodwork, at the fag end.
james@khaleejtimes.com


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