Al Dhafra beat Sharjah; Dibba score narrow win

Abu Dhabi - Diego Rigonato scores a first-half winner for Dhafra

Diego Rigonato scored a first-half winner for Al Dhafra's solitary goal win over Sharjah in the Arabian Gulf Cup at the Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
Sharjah keeper Ahmed Juma made an early save to deny Al Dhafra's Amine Atouchi from opening the scoring in the third minute.
Al Dhafra made an early substitution as Suhail Salem Al Mansoori came on to replace Abdulla Yousif Alhammadi in the 24th minute. Al Dhafra's substitution proved to be the game changer as Al Mansoori provided an assist for his side's opener. Al Mansoori sent an accurate cross for Diego Rigonato inside the box and the latter headed the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
Sharjah were close to leveling the scoreline before halftime, but Mohamed Ibrahim failed to connect with the ball as Al Dhafra headed into the break with a 1-0 lead. Following the win, Al Dhafra reached the seven-point mark from four games in third place in Group B, while Sharjah remain winless at the bottom of the table on zero points.
In another match, Dibba earned a 1-0 win over Shabab Al Ahli at Fujairah Stadium on Tuesday.
The game got off to a slow start with the visitors having an edge in ball possession but failing to cause any real threat on Dibba's post.
The first real chance of the game came after 24 minutes when Dibba's Yaser Abdulla sent a powerful free-kick, forcing Shabab Al Ahli's keeper Hassan Hamza Ali into a good save.
Six minutes after the break, Dibba broke the deadlock. Dibba was awarded a penalty after Yahya Jabrane was fouled inside the box. Jabrane converted it calmly from the spot into the bottom right corner of the net.
Shabab Al Ahli pushed forward in an attempt to score an equalizer but Dibba keeper Abdulla Sultan pulled off a save to deny Mauro Alberto Diaz around the one-hour mark. Sultan continued to impress as his denied Luvannor Henrique De Souse in the 77th minute.
Following the win, Dibba now jumped to third place in Group A on six points following two wins and two defeats. Meanwhile, Shabab Al Ahli slipped to fourth frozen on six points after suffering their second defeat.