Al Wasl rekindle hopes for AFC Champions League ticket

Dubai - The Cheetahs, who were left to play more than an hour with 10 men, blanked Hatta 2-0

Al Wasl rekindled their hopes for an AFC Champions League ticket by notching their second win in seven matches to temporarily move to third, while Hatta's stay in the Arabian Gulf League hung by a thread.

The Cheetahs, who were left to play more than an hour with 10 men following Ronaldo Mendes' sending off, blanked The Hurricanes 2-0 at the Zabeel Stadium on Friday night.

Caio Canedo scored on the hour, his seventh goal of the competition, while young substitute Ali Saleh Ali added the second nine minutes later.

The win moves Al Wasl to 38 points and to third ahead of Al Nasr, their rivals down the road. Al Nasr, who are now two points behind, are set to play champions-in-waiting Al Ain on Saturday night. Al Wasl and Al Nasr are tussling for the third and final available spot for next season's AFC Champions League.

Meanwhile, Hatta's 14th defeat and sixth on the trot, left them standing on thin ice with just one round left to play. The Hurricanes, who are rooted at the bottom, are on 13 points, three behind Emirates, and will go into a relegation play-off.

Al Wasl made all the moves in the opening minutes as Hatta were left to provide adequate cover at the back.

There was a chance each for either side but it was rather cautious opening though until the game picked pace after the first 20 minutes.

Hatta had a fine chance on 18 minutes when captain Mahmoud Hassan whipped in a cross from the left to find Adrian Ropotan. But the former Romanian international Ropotan lost his footing even as the Al Wasl backline were trying to regroup.

The Hurricanes had another golden opportunity moments later following a defensive blunder but goalkeeper Yousef Al Zaabi warded off Samuel Rosa's through after Salem Al Azizi's header to Zaabi had gone wrong.

Matters turned worse for The Cheetahs after Ronaldo Mendes was given a direct red card by referee Mohammed Obaid Khadim for a minor skirmish with Mahmoud Hassan following a tackle. Al Wasl were then left to play out 66 minutes with 10 men with Mendes heading off for an early shower.

Mahmood Qassim was lucky to get away with just a booking a little later after he had hacked into Hazza Salem.

As the clock went past the half hour, Hatta's Fernando Gabriel saw his shot from the left blocked by Yousef Al Zaabi.

Hazza Salem, who had taken a knock following that challenge from Mahmood Qassim, saw his night end early, limping off to be replaced by Abdulrahman Ali, on 35 minutes.

Al Wasl had a shot at goal just before the break but Fabio de Lima's left-footed grounder was saved by goalkeeper Obaid Thani, in stoppage time.

Al Wasl finally broke the deadlock on the hour with Caio Canedo tapping home after Ali Saleh Ali, who had come on just a minute earlier for Anthony Caceres, fired it across following Obaid Thani's clearance.

And Ali Saleh put the result to bed with Obaid Thani unable to stop the 18-year-old's screamer after Mahmoud Hassan had kept out Abdalla Al Naqbi's shot.

Hatta threw the kitchen sink at Al Wasl at the fag end but fell short.

james@khaleejtimes.com