Wasl face Sky Blues in Arabian Gulf Cup

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Mohamed Fayez of Al Wasl fights for the ball with Fabio De Lima of Al Ain during an AGL match on September 14.
Mohamed Fayez of Al Wasl fights for the ball with Fabio De Lima of Al Ain during an AGL match on September 14.

Dubai - Cheetahs face stern examination against Bani Yas

By Alex Leach

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Published: Fri 9 Oct 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Fri 9 Oct 2015, 7:19 PM

Al Wasl will be aiming to move clear at the top of Group A in the Arabian Gulf Cup (AGC) when they entertain basement battlers Bani Yas this afternoon (Friday, Kick-off: 5:10pm).
Having already beaten Al Shaab (2-0) and drawn with Al Nasr (0-0), Gabriel Calderon's Cheetahs XI have accrued four points - the same tally as Al Ahli and the aforementioned Blue Wave, who play each other tomorrow (Saturday) night (Kick-off: 8pm).
Wasl therefore have a prime opportunity to pile the pressure on their two Dubai-based rivals with victory over the pointless Sky Blues following the latter's 1-0 loss at home to Nasr back in late August.
However, the contrasting Arabian Gulf League (AGL) form of these two teams would imply this cup clash is anything but a 'home banker' for the fourth-from-bottom Wasl. They have, after all, not won a game since that Shaab success, with their stalemate at Al Maktoum Stadium in the AGC followed by back-to-back AGL losses to Al Ain (2-0) and Ivan Jovanovic's men (2-0).
Meanwhile, third-placed Bani Yas haven't tasted a single defeat in that time as a comprehensive 3-0 triumph over newly-promoted Dibba Al Fujairah proved the precursor to draws against Fujairah (3-3) and Al Shabab (1-1). It also needs to be remembered that Bani Yas have played one AGC match to Wasl's two, so it's somewhat harder to assess their cup credentials on the basis of a single 90 minutes.
In fact, if you discount their narrow Nasr defeat in this competition, Bani Yas have scored nine goals in four AGL runouts and they are thus the second-highest scorers in the league behind Cosmin Olaroiu's Red Knights outfit. Ahli's record is skewed too owing to an opening-day 8-1 rout against Fujairah and Bani Yas are peerless among those 12 AGL clubs who have played three fixtures or more.
Wasl have found it considerably tougher to find the net, with Caio Canedo's prolonged absence undermining their efforts in front of goal. They've hit the target only twice in the AGL, leaving them among the worst offensive sides on the 14-strong ladder alongside early-season strugglers Shaab.
To put Wasl's problems in perspective, Bani Yas' two frontline strikers - Ishak Belfodil (three goals) and Joaquin Larrivey (five strikes) - have scored four times as many goals as their entire team in the AGL so far. That dire statistic will need to change pronto if they are to stand a realistic chance today and in the tournament as a whole.
alex@khaleejtimes.com 

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