Al Nasr squander chance to go top after draw with Dibba

Al Nasr's Khalifa Mubarak and Dibba' s Khaled Youssef in action during the the Arabian Gulf Cup Football match at Al Maktoum stadium in Dubai on Thursday 11, November 2016.

Dubai - Al Dhafra get the better of Emirates to go top of the table in Group A

Al Nasr blew the perfect opportunity to go top of Group B, and more pertinently a semifinal berth in the Arabian Gulf Cup, after being held to a stalemate by Dibba at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Thursday night.
Al Nasr, who were on nine points, a point behind Al Ahli and Al Shabab, had the luxury of two games in hand prior to this fixture, and could have got the job done on the night. But the Blue Wave fluffed their lines against a stoic Dibba to end the game 0-0.
Al Nasr coach Dan Petrescu was not amused by Dibba's tactics.
"Only one team wanted to play football," Petrescu said after the game.
"They changed their players and they changed their tactics also. Also, we had too many players missing. But this is football. But we still have a game left," he added.
Meanwhile Dibba coach Paulo Sergio said they had to be realistic after the 4-0 thrashing they received at the hands of Al Nasr in the League last week.
"I can say good game," said Sergio.
"After we were beaten 4-0, this was like stopping the bleeding of last week. We had to be realistic against a team like Al Nasr and we defended well and looked for the counter attack," he added.
Elsewhere, at the Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium in the Western Region, Al Dhafra got the better of Emirates to go top of the table in Group A.
Captain Makhete Diop and Syrian international Omar Khrbin fired a brace each as The Western Knights defeated the team from Ras Al Khaimah 4-2.
The comprehensive victory leapfrogged Al Dhafra past Al Wasl and perched them to 12 points, while Al Wasl, who aren't playing this week, are on nine points.
A goal rush in the span of just four minutes put the game to bed. Makhete Diop gave Al Dhafra the lead on 14 minutes and Omar Khrbin added the second, two minutes later. Khrbin then scored the third on 18 minutes after which Diop added the fourth on 34 minutes.
Abdulla Musa scored a consolation goal for Emirates on 71 minutes.
Coming back to the Al Maktoum Stadium, in a game that lacked the intensity, Al Nasr came with a fair share of chances after Dibba had had a glimpse early on.
Dibba made a dangerous foray into the box from the left, on 14 minutes, but Mubarak Saeed made a timely clearance in front of the goal mouth.
Al Nasr's best opportunity came on 22 minutes but they were denied by the woodwork. An Al Nasr corner found an unmarked Ahmed Khamis at the far post but his header hit the right post.
Jires Kembo-Ekoko had a crack at goal with five minutes left in the half but his shot from just outside the box was palmed away to safety by goalkeeper Fahd Mohamed.
Kembo then came up with a fine assist after the restart when he put Hussain Abbas through on the left. But the latter's cross across goal took a deflection off Fahd Mohamed and went out.
Later, Fawaz Awana's header went over the cross bar after a precise cross from Abdelaziz Barrada from the right. Then, a little later, Jires Kembo-Ekoko's curling attempt went wide of the post.