Al Wahda beat Fujairah; Bani Yas stun Sharjah at Arabian Gulf Cup

Al Wahda earned their first win of the season as they beat Fujairah 3-1 in their first Group B match at the Arabian Gulf Cup at Al Nahyan Stadium on Friday.

Al Wahda controlled the possession in the early minutes of the game but failed to create real goalscoring chances.

Midway through the first half, Fujairah goalkeeper Saleh Rabie pulled off two consecutive saves from Nicolas Milesi and Mohamed Al Menhali to keep the game goalless.   

Five minutes ahead of the break, the Clarets broke the deadlock and went 1-0 up, thanks to Abdulla Anwar‘s goal. South Korean defender Rim Chang-woo crossed the ball inside the box to Anwar who beat his marker and slotted home.

Al Wahda started the second half in a perfect manner and only three minutes after the restart, Anwar added his second of the night to put the Clarets 2-0 up. A perfect though pass from veteran UAE international Ismail Matar found Anwar, who burst into the box and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper before slotting the ball home.

Twelve minutes from time, Fujairah reduced the deficit through Salim Saif who headed Fernando Gabriel‘s free-kick past Al Wahda keeper Mohamed Al Shamsi.

Fujairah failed to complete their comeback as the Clarets soon added a third to seal the three points. After an impressive run from Khalil Ibrahim on the right flank, he sent the ball to Yahya Al Ghassani who tapped home.

Al Wahda now sit on top of Group B alongside Bani Yas, who beat Sharjah on Thursday. Meanwhile, Hatta and Ajman sit in third and fourth place respectively after sharing the spoils in their opening game.

Al Nasr made an impressive start to their season as they beat Ittihad Kalba 3-0 in their first Group A match at Al Maktoum Stadium.

Al Nasr had the upper hand in the early minutes of the game and were already 1-0 up after eight minutes. Brandley Kuwas found Jassem Yaqoub’s cross inside the box before sending the ball into the back of Jamal Ali’s net.  

Kalba tried to reduce the deficit but failed to pose enough threat on Al Nasr’s goal. The most dangerous chance in the first half fell to Walid Amber in the 23rd minute but his effort was saved by Al Nasr keeper Ahmed Shambih.

The Blues doubled their lead four minutes before halftime through Toze. Yaqoub was again involved in the goal as he passed the ball into the Portuguese midfielder’s way, who then sent a curling effort from the edge of the box into the far left corner of the net.

While Kalba were trying to make a comeback in the second half, they suffered a huge setback when they were reduced to 10 men after Yaqoub Al Hosani was sent off in the 64th minute.

Yaseen Al Bakhit was Kalba’s most effective player and had few scoring chances with the most dangerous one coming 20 minutes from time. However, his powerful effort from outside the box was saved by Shambih.

Al Nasr are now tied on three points with Al Jazira, who beat Khorfakkan 3-1, on top of Group A.
Pedro Conde netted a brace as Bani Yas defeated Sharjah 2-0 in their first Group B match at the Arabian Gulf Cup on Thursday night.

Bani Yas looked more dangerous in the early stages of the game as the hosts thought they took the lead after five minutes only, however, Ayanda Patosi’s effort was ruled out for an offside.

The Sky Blues continued to pose threat on the King’s goal and came close to finding the back of the net on the quarter-hour mark. A stunning free-kick from Luiz Antonio went just few inches wide.

In the 23rd minute, Suhail Al Noubi played a neat one-two with Conde, however, Al Noubi’s effort went above the bar.

Three minutes later, Sharjah had a chance to take the lead but Igor Coronado’s strike was saved by Bani Yas keeper Fahad Al Dhanhani.

Two minutes after the one-hour mark, Bani Yas went 1-0 up. The Sky Blues were awarded a penalty kick after Conde was brought down inside the box. The Spanish forward converted calmly from the spot into the bottom right corner of the net to give the hosts’ a deserved lead.