Juma nets brace in Shabab Al Ahli victory

DUBAI: Mohamed Juma netted a brace to hand Shabab Al Ahli a 2-0 win over Al Nasr at Al Maktoum Stadium in matchweek 3 of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Saturday.

The first dangerous chance of the game fell to the guests when Henrique Luvannor’s effort was saved by Al Nasr keeper Ahmed Shambieh.

Only 25 minutes into the game, Al Nasr were dealt a huge blow as they were reduced to 10 men after misconduct from Muhannad Khamis against Shabab Al Ahli’s Argentine midfielder Federico Cartabia.

Ten minutes before the break, Shambieh denied Shabab Al Ahli from netting the opener after collecting Cartabia’s powerful strike.

Only two minutes later, Shabab Al Ahli opened the scoring following a defensive mistake from Al Nasr. The ball fell to Mohamed Juma on the edge of the box, who made no mistake as he struck the ball into the back of the net and gave his side a 1-0 lead.

Just before the break, Cartabia came close to doubling Shabab Al Ahli’s lead but his long-range effort hit the woodwork as the first half ended with a 1-0 advantage for the guests.

Shabab Al Ahli were looking to net the second after the restart to secure the victory. They eventually doubled their lead in the 63rd minute, when Henrique Luvannor’s through pass found Juma inside the box, and the latter tapped into the back of the net to double his side’s lead.

Shabab Al Ahli kept pushing for more goals in the remaining minutes but failed to create real chances as they sealed the three points with a 2-0 win.

Shabab Al Ahli now top Group A on seven points, three above fourth-placed Al Nasr.

Earlier, Yahya Al Ghassani’s opener was cancelled out by Pedro Conde’s goal as Al Wahda and Bani Yas played out a 1-1 draw at Al Nahyan Stadium.

Bani Yas looked more dangerous in the early stages of the game, and created problems for Al Wahda’s defensive line. Only two minutes into the match, Sultan Al Shamsi came close to opening the scoring but his effort went few inches wide.

While the Sky Blues controlled the possession and were more active in Al Wahda’s final third, they failed to find the back of the net.

Around the quarter-hour mark, Pedro Conde almost made it 1-0 for Bani Yas. However, his effort lacked accuracy as the game remained deadlocked at 0-0.

Al Wahda keeper Rashed Ali pulled off a good save on the half-hour mark to deny Ayanda Patosi from netting the opening goal. Ten minutes later, Pedro Conde was denied by the woodwork after an impressive individual work from the Spanish forward.

As the first half seemed to be headed for a 0-0 draw, Al Wahda grabbed a late goal as they opened the scoring just one minute before the break. After Abdulla Anwar was awarded a penalty for a foul inside the box, Ghassani converted from the spot to put his side in front.