Al Dhafra kick off their season with hard-fought Kalba win

KALBA: João Pedro netted a brace as Al Dhafra earned a hard-fought 3-2 away win over Ittihad Kalba in a matchweek 2 game of the Arabian Gulf Cup at the Ittihad Kalba Club Stadium on Friday.

Kalba entered the game on the back of a 3-0 loss to Al Nasr in the season’s opener, while this marked Al Dhafra’s first game of the season.

Despite their need to get their first win of the season, the hosts started the game on the wrong foot.

Only four minutes into the match, they were 1-0 down after Al Dhafra’s new signing Diego Jardel opened his scoring account with the UAE side. The Brazilian midfielder dribbled past a number of Kalba players before tapping the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box to give the guests an early lead.

Only 15 minutes later, Al Dhafra’s other Brazilian signing, João Pedro, doubled his side’s lead.

Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes, the home side fought back and were able to reduce the deficit 10 minutes before the break, courtesy a goal by Balázs Dzsudzsák.

Kalba pushed forward for another goal and their efforts paid off as they got the equaliser only two minutes from halftime, this time through Peniel Mlapa.

The game seemed to be headed for a 2-2 draw, but João Pedro sent a perfect header into the bottom left corner of the net off a Jardel free-kick to regain his side’s lead in the 78th minute. This win puts Al Dhafra in third place with three points.