UAE club Al Wahda bow out of Arab Club Championship

Abu Dhabi - Goals from midfielders Amr Barakat and Islam Mohareb handed the Abu Dhabi club their second loss of the tournament

Al Wahda were eliminated from Arab Club Championship following 2-0 Group A loss to Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo on Tuesday night.
Goals from midfielders Amr Barakat and Islam Mohareb handed the Abu Dhabi club their second loss of the tournament.
Right from the start, Al Ahly kept possession and attacked. Al Wahda back three were up to the task but by the sixth minute Hamdan Al Kamali suffered an injury and was replaced by Mohammed Abdulbasit. 
Al Wahda were happy to sit back and defend as Al Ahly attacks mounted. However, Al Ahly went ahead through a powerful finish inside the box by Barakat in the 32nd minute. The home team continued to maintain pressure. The only positives for Al Wahda in the first 45 minutes came when Balazs Dzsudzsak tested Al Ahly goal with a long-range effort. 
After the break, Al Wahda's approach changed. New coach Laureniu Reghecampf shifted from a defensive strategy to an attacking one. And it almost paid off. An alert Ahly keeper Mohamed El Shenawy thwarted attempts from Dzsudzsak.
Things got worse for Al Wahda as for the second time in the tournament they were down to 10 men. 
In the 66th minute, Khalil Ibrahim was shown a second yellow.  
Al Ahly switched into cruise mode and went on offensive. Finally, with eight minutes left, Mohareb scored to double the advantage.
With the win, Al Ahly remain alive in the tournament and now face Algeria's NA Hussein Dey to grab best runners-up berth. 
Al Wahda, meanwhile, had lost their first match against NA Hussein Dey 2-0 and now face group leaders Al Faisaly in their last match on Friday.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com