Ajman stun Al Ain; Al Jazira beat Kalba, climb to 3rd spot

Al Ain suffered a shocking 4-0 defeat to Ajman at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in matchweek 20 of the Arabian Gulf League on Saturday.

After a slow start to the game, Caio had an effort saved by Ajman keeper Ali Mohamed Ali in the 17th minute, before Mame Thiam responded instantly but his effort was also saved by Khalid Eisa.

It wasn’t until the 29th minute when the Oranges broke the deadlock. A defensive blunder from Al Ain saw Stanley Nka go one-on-one with the keeper before slotting home.

Al Ain tried to level the scoreline quickly but Caio’s effort was saved by the Ajman keeper.

It was the guests, however, who found the back of the net for a second time in the first half as they made it 2-0 three minutes before the break. Abdulla Malalla’s effort from outside the box deflected off Al Ain’s player before nestling into the back of the net as Ajman took a 2-0 advantage into halftime.

Ajman kicked off the second half in a strong manner as they further extended their lead only six minutes after the restart. Adel Hermash’s header off Vander Vieira’s corner-kick hit the woodwork before nestling into the back of the net.

Al Ain came close to reducing the deficit, however, Marcus Berg’s effort in the 53rd minute was saved by Ali.

Vander Vieira turned from provider to scorer as he got his name into the scoresheet in the dying minutes of the game. Ismail Ahmed’s mistake left the Brazilian forward in a one-on-one situation with the keeper and he didn’t mistake as he rounded the keeper before slotting into the empty net.  

Ajman are now seventh on 27 points, while Al Ain dropped to fourth place on 38 points.

In another match, Al Jazira came back from two goals down to earn a 4-2 away win over Ittihad Kalba.

A fiery first half saw Kalba score two goals before Al Jazira netted twice to level the scoreline before halftime.

Only nine minutes into the game, Tommy Reyes gave Kalba the lead. The Colombian forward capitalized on a defensive blunder from Khalifa Mubarak and dribbling past the Al Jazira defender and slotting home.

Ernest Asante tried to respond in the 18th minute but his effort was saved by Kalba keeper Mohamed Albairaq. Myke Ramos doubled the hosts’ lead in the 27th minute following another defensive mistake from the Pride of Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian forward found the ball inside the box and sent a strike into the back of the net to give his side a 2-0 advantage.

Ten minutes before the break, Musallem Fayez reduced the deficit for the guests as he headed home Leonardo Pereira’s freekick.

Al Jazira’s revival continued as they netted a second goal just before halftime to level the scoreline. Ali Mabkhout’s effort was saved by Albairaq before Sebastien Siani latched onto the rebound and slotted home.

Kalba were dealt a huge blow in the 70th minute when Mansour Albloushi was sent off for a second booking, forcing his side to continue the game with 10 men.

Capitalizing on the numerical disadvantage, Al Jazira took the lead for the first time in the 86th minute. Following an impressive teamwork, Abdalla Ramadan’s pass found Ernest Asante inside the box and the latter tapped home to give his side a 3-2 lead.

A goal from Leonardo Pereira deep in injury time put the win beyond any doubt. Pereira found Mabkhout’s backheel pass before sending a powerful effort into the back of the net.

The drama intensified in injury time, as two other red cards were shown in the dying moments of the game as the referee sent off Al Jazira’s Mabkhout and Kalba’s Mohamed Albairaq.

Al Jazira reached the 40-point mark and jumped to third place, while Kalba are frozen on 21 points in 10th place.

Earlier, Luvannor Souse netted a brace as Shabab Al Ahli earned a comfortable 4-2 win over Al Wasl at Zabeel Stadium.

The first real threat came in the 21st minute, through Luvannor who received the ball near the edge of box. However, his left-footed low-strike cannoned off the post as Shabab Al Ahli missed a chance to get the opening goal.

Five minutes past the half-hour mark, Ahmed Khalil went up the right flank and sent an accurate ground cross towards Ismail Al Hammadi. The number 7 smashed the ball into the top corner from a close range to break the deadlock.