Shamrani's strikes late as Al Ain beat Al Wahda

Abu Dhabi - Just after half-time, Tagliabue was substituted. Coach Javier Aguirre surely must have had AFC Champions League and the President's Cup match in mind.

Nasser Al Shamrani scored late as Al Ain secured a 3-2 win over Al Wahda during the Arabian Gulf League match at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday night.
Now, Al Ain stand at fourth spot with 49 points, just two behind Al Wasl and three behind Al Ahli. This was also a night when Capital's 'Pride' Al Jazira were crowned League champions in Hatta.
Al Wahda were left to rue their missed chances as Al Ain livewire Danilo Asprilla's brace and striker Shamrani's strike turned out to be the difference makers.
Al Wahda's foreign legs of Sebastian Tagliabue, Balazs Dzsudzsak and Rim Chang-woo did keep pressure throughout.

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But for the late flourish, Al Ain sorely missed talisman Omar Abdulrahman, who served a one-match suspension. Ismail Ahmed too was out for the Garden City club.
Both teams were in search of three points to be in contention for the remaining AFC Champions League positions. And there was no love lost as players were shoulder-to-shoulder in every challenge.
In the 12^th minute, it was sublime play from Al Wahda that saw a top pass from midfield to Dzsudzsak, who failed with his finish. A long-ranger in the 25^th minute from Dzsudzsak was a reminder as to what he can do when provided with little space.
At the other end, Al Ain winger Danilo Asprilla shot wide following a tough tackle from the 'Clarets' defence. The Colombian also missed a good chance to net as Ahmed Barman drew out the entire defence to feed Asprilla but the winger failed to convert. Asprilla was also involved in spat with Al Wahda players following another challenge. On counter-attack, Al Wahda striker Tagliabue got the better of defenders but was unable to find the back of goal.
Just after half-time, Tagliabue was substituted. Coach Javier Aguirre surely must have had AFC Champions League and the President's Cup match in mind.
Moments later, Al Wahda missed a good chance. Dzsudzsak's delivered a cross into the box but striker Jorge Valdivia failed to get past keeper Khalid Eisa.
And in the 59^th minute, Al Wahda were made to pay as Asprilla scored through rebound after striker Yousef Ahmed's header struck the goal post from midfielder Caio Lucas' corner.
What followed was end to end stuff with attacks and counters. Both teams kept up the pressure. However, it was an unlucky night for Al Wahda. In the 70^th minute, keeper Eisa managed to keep out Dzsudzsak's strike and two minutes later Mohamed Al Menhali was sent off following an incident with Caio.
In the 74^th minute, Al Ain piled more misery as Asprilla scored again through Caio's pass to make it 2-0. Just when Al Ain were beginning to take the game away, Al Wahda struck. With just 10 minutes to go, Al Wahda's Rim Chang-woo scored through a header. And in the 85^th minute, Jorge Valdivia scored his third goal of the competition to make it 2-2.
But in additional time, Al Ain stole the thunder as Al Shamrani netted the winner past Al Wahda keeper Rashed Ali from a Caio delivery. The Capital derby lived up to its billing.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com