Al Wahda survive Hatta's late charge to win

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Al Wahda survive Hattas late charge to win
Al Wahda's Balazs Dzsudzsak (right) celebrates with teammate Sebastian Tagliabue after scoring against Hatta.

Published: Sat 14 Jan 2017, 7:47 PM

Last updated: Sat 14 Jan 2017, 9:53 PM

Al Wahda managed to prevail over Hatta 3-2 during the Round 14 match of the Arabian Gulf League at the Al Nahyan Stadium in the Capital on Saturday.
The first 67 minutes was all about Al Wahda's domination but then followed few minutes of absent-mindedness that allowed the visitors to sneak in two goals from Brazilian striker Rafael Silva.
Al Wahda started with Ismail Mattar and the veteran induced a save from Hatta keeper Obaid Raihan that went onto hit the post. However, moments later, Al Wahda scored through a free kick. Hatta defender Ali Al Khajah handed the ball just outside the danger spot and Al Wahda midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak found a gap in the wall to rocket in his fourth League goal.
Just at the stroke of the first half, Al Wahda went up 2-0. It was poor clearance by keeper Raihan that straightaway went to Al Wahda striker Sebastian Tagliabue, who passed onto Dzsudzsak. The Hungarian let fly a long ranger cross that got defected from Australian defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley into the goal. Raihan dived to his right but couldn't keep it out.
In the 61st minute, a clearance lapse by Hatta defender Sebil Ghazi saw Tagliabue make it 3-0. The Argentinian's first shot was saved by Raihan but the striker scored on the rebound.
At a moment when Al Wahda should have piled more pressure, they shut shop instead.
It was a lapse of concentration that saw new signing Silva score twice in three minutes. It was a melee in front of the goal but then Rafael Silva found the sweet spot. Pressing more, strikers Samuel Rosa and Mohamed Malallah had shots on goal but it was kept out by an athletic Rashed Ali Al Suwaidi. However, Silva again came with the money shot.
Al Wahda woke up and then it was resilient defending to the final hooter. There were more chances at either end but all shots hit and kissed the timber. The score remained 3-2 in favour of coach Javier Aguirre's side taking them to fifth spot with 24 points. - ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

By Ashwani Kumar

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