Al Wahda drub Al Wasl to go atop; Fujairah pip Ajman
Al Wahda's Mohamed Al Abdulla (left) vies for the ball with an Al Wasl player during their Arabian Gulf League match on Friday evening at the Bani Yas stadium.
Published: Sat 22 Sep 2018, 9:38 PM
Last updated: Sat 22 Sep 2018, 11:52 PM
Al Wahda romped to the top of the Arabian Gulf League table with a thumping 4-1 win over Al Wasl at Bani Yas Stadium on Friday.
The Clarets got off to a flyer, taking the lead within 11 minutes as Leonardo da Silva embarked on a jinking run down the left wing before slipping a through pass for Sebastian Tagliabue who applied a deft finish with the outside of his right foot into the bottom corner.
The Argentine doubled his side's lead with his fifth goal of the campaign. Da Silva was again the creator sending in a perfectly-weighted free-kick from the right flank which Tagliabue steered with a header into the far corner to make it 2-0 in the 52nd minute.
The visitors' troubles were compounded in the 66th minute when talisman Fabio de Lima was sent off after a challenge on Da Silva.
Despite, the numerical disadvantage, the Cheetahs were able to half the deficit in the 78th minute. Vinicius Lima's cross from a free-kick was slid in by UAE international Khamis Esmaeel.
Substitute Ahmed Al Akberi sealed Al Wahda's victory three minutes from time. The youngster led a swift counter attack, making a 60-yard run from the left wing that saw him evade two defenders and advanced into the opposition box before drilling his shot past helpless Youssef Al Zaabi for a third Al Wahda goal.
There was still time for the Clarets to add a fourth in added time. This time, Moroccan winger Mourad Batna signed his name into the scoring sheet after been teed up by an intelligent Ismail Matar backheel on the edge of the area.
With 14 goals scored over the first three fixtures, Laurentiu Reghecampf's men lead the table, having matched Al Ain and Sharjah's nine points. Al Wasl, meanwhile, taste defeat for the first time in this season's Arabian Gulf League to freeze at four points.
In another encounter, super sub Ibrahim Khameis' late goal snatched a valuable win for Fujairah as they defeated Ajman 2-1 at the Fujairah Stadium.
The Oranges broke the deadlock in the 15th minute, as Mame Baba Thiam advanced up the right wing and sent an accurate ground cross towards Stanley Ohawuchi, whose composed right footed finish drilled into the back of Saleh Rabee's net.
Just 10 minutes later, Omar Kossoko was brought down by Waleed Abdulla near the edge of the area, the referee produced a straight red card for the Ajman player.
The Nigerian nearly doubled his tally in the 40th minute, when Adel Hermach brilliantly controlled Vandar Vieira's long through pass and sent the ball to Ohawuchi, whose powerful left footed shot from a close range cannoned off the crossbar.
The second half started in an electrifying fashion, as Khameis scored the equalising goal in the 47th minute, just one minute after coming on for the Wolves.