Al Wasl cruise into quarters with win over Al Wahda

Gulf Today Report

Al Wasl became the last of the eight teams to advance to the quarter-final of the Arabian Gulf Cup (AGC) after defeating Al Wahda 2-0 in the second leg of the playoff round at Zabeel Stadium.

Coming into the match on with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg, Al Wasl looked more lethal on Friday as they netted another two goals in the second leg to seal a berth in the next round with a 4-1 aggregate win.

They created the first chance of the game as early as in the sixth minute when Hueglo Neris’ header sailed wide of goal.

The hosts needed to wait until the 26th minute to find the back of the net when Joao Figueiredo broke the deadlock by sending a towering header off Ronaldo Mendes’ free-kick to put his side 1-0 ahead. They heaped more misery on a hapless Al Wahda, Al Wasl tapped another chance and doubled their lead five minutes after the restart through another header.

Mendes provided his second assist of the night as his corner-kick was converted into a bullet header by Neris, who nestled it into the back of the net to dent Al Wahda’s chances of making a comeback.

Al Wahda failed to find the back of the net during the rest of the second half, as Al Wasl sealed another victory over the Clarets to advance to the quarter final, where they will clash with Arabian Gulf League (AGL) reigning champions Sharjah. By the virtue of being the AGL champions, Sharjah have automatically qualified for the last eight. As the 2019-20 season was aborted mid-way with seven round to spare because of the pandemic that brought the whole world to a halt.

AL NASR WILL MEET FUJAIRAH

Al Nasr, who are reigning champions of the Arabian Gulf Cup, too have qualified for the quarters. They will also start their campaign directly from the round of last eight.

Al Nasr will meet Fujairah, who secured their spot in the quarter final of the after beating Ajman 2-1. Earlier, Bani Yas, Fujairah and Ittihad Kalba all booked their berths in the quarter-final on Thursday.

KALBA ADVANCE TO QUARTER FINAL

Meanwhile, Kalba advanced to the quarter final of the after drawing 1-1 with Al Jazira. Kalba entered the game on the back of their 2-1 advantage in the first leg at home. They conceded a goal right before the break but were able to equalise after halftime to book their spot in the next round with a 3-2 aggregate score.

Kalba failed to capitalise on a defensive error from Al Jazira in the 13th minute as the ball fell to unmarked Ahmed Jshak inside the box, however, the forward missed the target before the ball was diverted into a corner by Al Jazira’s Milos Kosanovic.

KHORFAKKAN IN LAST EIGHT

Khorfakkan booked their berth in the last eight for the first time in history after drawing with Al Ain 0-0 in the second leg of the playoff round. Khorfakkan entered the second leg on the back of a 4-2 advantage from the first leg, which eased their path into the next round of the competition.

Just three minutes before the break, Omar Juma forced Al Ain keeper Mohamed Bu Sanda into a fine save. The rebound fell to Ramon Lopes, but his effort sailed over the bar as the first half ended goalless.

Seven minutes after the restart, Fahad Hadeed created an impressive goalscoring chance after a solo effort that saw him dribble past Khorfakkan’s defence and pass the ball to Mohamed Abdelrahaman inside the box, but the latter’s effort missed the target.

After eliminating Al Ain, Khorfakkan will now lock horns with Shabab Al Ahli, who defeated Al Dhafra 4-1 on aggregate.