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Al Wasl stun Al Wahda

Al Wasl handed defending champions Al Wahda their second straight defeat of the season with a convincing 2-0 victory in the opener of the UAE pro-league at Zabeel Stadium.

Mohammed Jamal broke the deadlock in the 59^th minute with a lovely move and Fran Yeste doubled the score-line seven minutes later in great style.

“The absence of some Al Wahda players who could have made the difference was the reason behind our defeat,” said the French coach Boloni, referring to the absence of the suspended duo — Mohammed Al Shehhi and Ismail Matar.

Al Shehhi and Matar were sent off during the Super Cup clash against relegated the Emirates last weekend. Al Wahda suffered a stunning 1-3 defeat.

Commenting on the performance of Brazilian striker Fernando Baiano and Ivorian Madibo Diarra, the Frenchman said they did not perform to his satisfaction.

“They didn’t score and also they were not convincing on the field,” he told the ADSC in a post-match chat.

However, Al Wahda’s team manager Abdullah Saleh said they have signed a new player who would join the squad very soon.

“The player has arrived in Abu Dhabi,” said the controversial UAE sports official, but he declined to elaborate.

The statement reconfirmed early Media reports which had suggested that the club’s management was in the process of replacing their African player Modibo Diarra.

Meanwhile, the stunning defeat comes just a week after the title holders were thrashed 3-1 by relegated Emirates in the Super Cup.

“It does happen,” said the UAE ace Ismail Matar. “It’s painful for our faithful fans who travelled all the way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai to see their team bounce back, but this is football.

“There’s nothing to worry about and it’s still too early. We have it in us to bounce back and challenge for the honours at the FIFA Club World Cup in December,” Matar said.

Dhafra beat Al Ahli

In the western region, star-studded Al Ahli went 0-2 down to hosts Al Dhafra. Abbas Moya and Mohammed Salem hit the back of the net in the 36^th and 78^th minutes respectively.

But, after all, the better teams have won and the expected has happened. And apart from the fact that Al Dhafra were playing at home, players like Cannavaro and Bance, who came from Serie A and Bundes Liga, failed to impress.

Cannavaro received the first caution of the season in the 8^th minute of the first half.

However, it’s premature to make a fair judgment on the overall performance of the David O’Leary’s men. It also remains to be seen whether O’Leary considers bringing back Al Ahli’s ‘Emperor’ — Mohammed Qassim — or goes ahead with his plans to field Abdullah Traory besides Cannavaro. Up-front, Bance was virtually isolated. The home team’s alert defensive midfielders made it difficult for their rivals to send those passes to their strikers. This raises an important question about the effectiveness of midfielder Hassan Ali Ebrahim. Only time will tell whether Hassan becomes successful in forming a good partnership with Andre Pinga or not.

Al Ain entertain Dubai

Former champions Al Ain are all out to entertain promoted Dubai at the Tahnoon bin Mohammed Stadium in Al Qattara. The Purple squad have reportedly secured the services of the Iraqi left winger Mustafa Karim in a last minute deal. Al Ain have released Jorge Valdivia and Emerson and retained Jose Sand and Soufian Aloudi. The latter was severely injured and the club’s management is looking forward to sign a replacement for him.

In the meantime, Dubai have prepared for their pro-league campaign with plenty of local and foreign transfers. Ajman’s keeper Jamal Abdullah and Al Dhafra’s defender Jumaa Khater are among the key players who will carry the hopes of the team besides the foreign trio Michel, Rashid Tabrez and Yazid Al Qaisi.