Alfaro’s late winner helps Wasl edge past Shabab

In another clash, a late long range shot from substitute Nawaf Mubarak salvaged a 3-3 draw for Bani Yas against hosts Ajman at Rashid bin Saeed Stadium in Ajman.

Meanwhile, Al Nasr cruised to a 3-1 away victory over promoted Dibba Al Fujairah on Friday night. Leo Lima and Bruno Cesar (double) scored for the Blues as Alexssander Medeiros netted the consolation goal for the home team.

However, Alfaro put Al Wasl ahead in the 29th minute of the first half, scoring his 16th League goal of the campaign in the process. But Al Shabab soon found their way back into the game as Ciel sent a telling cross into the box from the right and Edgar Bruno rose above Al Wasl’s centre-back pairing to get a header away. His effort hit the crossbar before crossing the line and bouncing back out again, but the referee and his linesman made the correct decision in awarding the goal to make it 1-1 in the 40th minute. Just before the half-time break Al Wasl were forced into a change as defender Saood Saeed came off injured to be replaced by Maher Jassim, and the teams retreated to the dressing rooms on a level playing field.

Six minutes after the restart Al Shabab attempted to get ahead as the industrious Uzbek midfielder Haydarov Azizbek drilled one from long-range, which wasn’t too far off the mark.

Two minutes later Al Wasl were handed a great opportunity to get their noses in front again but Achille Emana was again wasteful with a free kick, hitting the wall, and Hassan Ali lashed his follow-up high and wide.

Both sides lacked cutting edge going forward, as Al Wasl’s Jussie Ferreira chipped from a tight angle in the 64th minute but saw his effort cleared easily by Al Shabab’s defense. Six minutes later Al Shabab were awarded a very promising free-kick right on the edge of the area, but Ciel’s direct shot from the set piece clattered the top of the crossbar before bouncing out.