Al Dhafra beat Hatta to claim first win of season as Khorfakkan held

Karim El Berkaoui struck five minutes from time as Al Dhafra came from behind to beat 10-man Hatta 2-1 at Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Matchweek 5 of the Adnoc Pro League, securing their first win of the season.

Hatta took the lead in the 24th minute when Seifeddine Jaziri’s backheel struck the post before the ball went in off Al Dhafra goalkeeper Amjad Al Sayed.

Al Dhafra had earlier been awarded a penalty in the 20th minute, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review.

Hatta were reduced to 10 men four minutes into the second half when Tahnoon Al Zaabi was shown a red card.

Al Dhafra quickly took advantage, with Rostand Djooh firing home the equaliser in the 57th minute.

Hatta came close to regaining the lead in the 75th minute when M Ben Alarbi struck the post before Al Sayed saved his follow-up effort.

El Berkaoui completed the comeback in the 85th minute, scoring the winner to give Al Dhafra their first three points of the campaign.

The victory moved Al Dhafra to 11th place, while Hatta remained 12th with three points.

El Berkaoui has now scored 12 of Al Dhafra’s 29 Adnoc Pro League goals since the start of last season, accounting for 41% of the club’s total.

Khorfakkan, Bani Yas share spoils: Khorfakkan and Bani Yas played out a 0-0 draw at Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Stadium.

The result took Khorfakkan to four points in 10th place, while Bani Yas remained 13th with one point.

Bani Yas created the first clear chance in the 10th minute when Alhassan Koroma tested Khorfakkan goalkeeper Ahmed Hamdan Al Hosani, who pushed his effort away for a corner.

Khorfakkan responded in the 20th minute with a long-range effort from N’Guessan Jean Kouadio, but Bani Yas goalkeeper Fahad Al Dhanhani made the save.

The hosts appealed for a penalty four minutes later, but the referee decided against awarding the spot kick following a VAR review.

Bani Yas threatened again late in the first half through Koroma and Saviour Godwin, but the teams went into the break goalless.

Khorfakkan started the second half on the front foot, with Oumar Traore firing narrowly wide in the 54th minute.

Bani Yas thought they had broken the deadlock in the 62nd minute when Youssoufou Niakate found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Khorfakkan continued to search for a winner. Pedro Pavlov headed wide before Traore missed two further opportunities, including an 80th-minute effort saved by Al Dhanhani.

The hosts finished with 60.3% possession and completed 273 passes compared with Bani Yas’ 175, but neither side could find a goal as they shared the points.

Al Ain’s perfect start ends in Al Wasl draw: Al Ain saw their perfect start to the campaign come to an end after coming from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against Al Wasl. Abdulkarim Traore found the breakthrough after 33 minutes, unleashing a long-range strike from outside the box that flew beyond the outstretched hands of Al Wasl goalkeeper Dinko Horkas.

Al Wasl responded quickly and restored parity just five minutes later. Siaka Sidibe threaded a pass into the path of Nicolas Gimenez, who twisted away from his marker and cut inside before firing into the back of the net.

The visitors then turned the game on its head through Mehdi Taremi. Sergio Pereira collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area before swinging in a pinpoint cross, which Taremi met with a powerful header past Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.

Al Ain stepped up the pressure in search of an equaliser, with Soufiane Rahimi going agonisingly close when his effort struck the post in the 54th minute.

Their persistence eventually paid off eight minutes from time. Yahya Bin Khaliq delivered an inviting cross into the area, where Valentin Lazaro produced a diving header into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-2.