Al Nasr rally to hold Al Ain as Al Wasl down Fujairah

Al Nasr came back from behind to snatch a late 2-2 draw against Al Ain at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in matchweek 8 of the Arabian Gulf League on Wednesday.

The Blues got off to a fiery start, as they missed a glorious chance to take the lead through Alvaro Negredo, whose powerful header was denied by the crossbar in the 19th minute.

Al Ain responded in the 40th minute, as they were awarded a penalty kick after Bandar Al Ahbabi was brought down inside the box by Ahmed Shambieh. Kodjo Laba sent the ball home from the spot to put the Boss infront.

The hosts doubled their lead in the third minute of injury time, when Al Ahbabi sent an accurate cross towards Caio Canedo, whose flying header nestled into the back of the net.

Ten minutes after the restart, Al Nasr reduced the deficit, when Brandley Kuwas squared the ball to Toze near the edge of the box, the latter drilled it into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.

Around the 70-minute mark, Ahmed Barman released Canedo behind Al Nasr’s defence. The Brazilian cut inside before unleashing a right footed stunner that was brilliantly parried away by Shambieh.

In the fifth minute of injury time, Mohammed Fayez was shown a second yellow card for his careless challenge against Hussain Abdullah inside the penalty box. Toze converted from the spot to snatch a late equaliser for the Blues.

After the draw Al Ain remain third with 15 points and will travel to Ajman on Dece.15. Al Nasr remain fifth with 14 points before hosting league leaders Sharjah in matchweek 9 of the Arabian Gulf League.

Meanwhile, Fabio de Lima netted a brace as Al Wasl registered a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Fujairah at Zabeel Stadium.

Al Wasl got off to a quick start, when they threatened Fujairah through Lima, who cut on his left before sending a powerful left footed strike that was blocked by Abdullah Al Tamimi in the fourth minute.

In the 38th minute, the Wolves were reduced to 10 men as Martial Kouassi was sent off the pitch after his horror challenge against Salem Al Azizi.

The Cheetahs tried to push forward and in the last moments of the first half, Ali Saleh controlled the ball in midfield and sent a long range right footed volley that was parried away by Al Tamimi.

In the second half, Al Wasl managed to capitalize on the numerical advantage as they broke the deadlock in the 58th minute. Ahmed Al Abri went up the left flank and crossed the ball towards Lima, who smashed it into the top corner.

Ten minutes later, Al Abri turned from provider to scorer, when he received Fernando Gaibor’s pass inside the box and placed it into the back of the net to double the Cheetahs’ lead.

Fujairah reduced the deficit in the 74th minute through Fernando Gabriel, who received a loose ball near the edge of the box and slotted it calmly into the bottom corner with a left footed low strike.

Just five minutes later, Lima doubled his tally as converted the ball into the back of Al Tamimi’s net following a clever one-two with Al Azizi to make it 3-1.

In the dying moments of the game, Fujairah’s Fahad Sabeel sent an in-swinging cross from the corner kick towards super sub Ahmed Mousa whose header hit the crossbar and went into the back of the net.

After the victory, Al Wasl moved to the 10th spot with eight points and will face Shabab Al Ahli next week. Meanwhile, Fujairah sit 13th with six points ahead of their difficult encounter against Al Jazira in matchweek 9 of the Arabian Gulf League.

Earlier, Shabab Al Ahli put in an impressive attacking display to defeat Al Wahda 4-0 at Rashid Stadium in matchweek 8 of the Arabian Gulf League.

The Clarets suffered a huge blow in the early stages of the game, as defender Al Hussain Saleh was sent for an early shower after receiving a straight red card for his challenge against Ahmed Khalil in the ninth minute, compelling the referee to point to the spot and award Shabab Al Ahli a penalty kick. Leonardo failed to send the ball home from the spot as he skied it over the crossbar.

The hosts capitalised on their numerical advantage, as they broke the deadlock in the 35th minute through Eid Khamis, whose right-footed effort from the edge of the box went past goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi.

The UAE international custodian saved Al Wahda from conceding more goals ahead of the break, as he pulled off a number of impressive saves to deny multiple dangerous attacks for Shabab Al Ahli.