Dzsudzsak marks Al Ain debut by scoring against former employers Ittihad Kalba

Dubai - The Hungarian captain was left out of the hosts' roster before being picked by 'The Boss'

Hungary Balazs Dzsudzsak marked his Al Ain debut by scoring against his former employers as the record Arabian Gulf League winners bossed over Ittihad Kalba on Friday night.
In a rearranged league fixture from matchweek 14 in January, Dzsudzsak, Omar Yaisien, Kodjo Laba and Cai Canedo got on the scoresheet as 'The Boss' ran out 4-1 victors at the Kalba Union Sports and Cultural Club Stadium.
The victory, Al Ain's ninth and their third in four matches, vaulted them from fifth to second on the table with 31 points, five adrift of leaders Shabab Al Ahli.
Kalba, meanwhile, suffered their 11th defeat and their fourth on the trot. They now languish in 11th place and in a fight for survival to avoid the drop.
New coach Pedro Emanuel, who took over in January, will now be hoping that the garden city club can continue to show the same intensity as they head down towards the remainder of the season.
Al Ain were up and running in no time and broke the deadlock on 17 minutes through Omar Yaseen. Bandar Al Ahbabi, the powerhouse man down the flank, set it up nicely for Yaseen and the latter neatly fired it past shot stopper Jamal Al Sarrah.
But a defensive blunder three minutes later saw Kalba equalize through Peniel Mlapa. Mlapa, who had scored in Kalba's 3-2 defeat to Al Ain in the first leg, pounced on the lapse before letting it fly past goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.
But Al Ain ensured that they would take a lead into half-time with Kodjo Laba on target with two minutes left for the break. Yaseen came up with a neat assist and Laba sent his shot home.
Al Ain then added cushion to their lead with Dzsudzsak, who was surprisingly left out of Kalba's roster, and was picked up by Al Ain, made his former employers pay for their blunder.
Salem Abdullah sent a low cross and Dzsudzsak fired it past Al Sarrah for Al Ain's third on 71 minutes. He then wheeled away in celebration to acknowledge the Al Ain fans.
Caio Canedo then rounded it off with the fourth after a fine and flowing move following Dzsudzsak's freekick. After Dzsudzsak's freekick, Jamal Maroof turned around and passed to Ahmed Barman, who too turned around and relayed it to the progressing Canedo. Canedo, who was granted UAE citizenship, shook off his marker before stabbing it home with his right foot.
Next up, Al Ain make the road trip to Hatta on February 27, while Kalba too are away to Fujairah on February 28.
james@khaleejtimes.com