Al Wasl held, Khorfakkan stun Al Jazira

Pedro Conde cancelled out Joao Figueiredo’s opening goal, as Al Dhafra and Al Wasl played out a 1-1 draw at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium in the 13th round match of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Saturday.

Both teams failed to find the back of the net in the first half of the game, and it wasn’t until the 54th minute that Al Wasl opened the scoring.

The ball fell to Figueiredo on the edge of the box following a defensive error, and the Brazilian forward made no mistake sending the ball into the bottom corner of Al Dhafra’s net.

Al Dhafra needed three minutes only to level the scoreline, as Yaseen Al Bakhit’s cross found Pedro Conde inside the box, and the Spanish forward capitalized on a defensive mistake before tapping home to make it 1-1.

Al Dhafra were reduced to 10 men in the 86th minute after Sultan Al Ghafri was handed a second booking.  Following the draw, Al Wasl sit ninth on 17 points, one above Al Dhafra in 10th place.

Meanwhile, Khorfakkan cruised to a 3-0 win over Al Jazira at Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi Stadium on Saturday.

Just before kick-off, Al Jazira midfielder Abdullah Ramadan and coach Marcel Keizer were handed the Player of the Month and Coach of the Month awards for December.

The hosts looked more dangerous in the opening minutes and needed less than six minutes to break the deadlock. After an impressive teamwork, Omar Juma’s effort was blocked by Ali Khasif, and Ramon Lopes latched onto the rebound and slotted home to hand his side a 1-0 lead.

Lopes missed a chance to double Khorfakkan’s lead few minutes later, as he dribbled past Khasif, only to send the ball wide.

Ali Mabkhout then wasted a number of chances on the other side of the pitch to net the equalizer. It was Khorfakkan, however, who scored a second five minutes ahead of the break, as Bruno Lamas fired a powerful left-footed effort from the edge of the box to hand his side a 2-0 lead.

Al Jazira thought they reduced the deficit just after the hour-mark, but Mabkhout’s effort was ruled out for an offside after reviewing the VAR.

The home side sealed the win with 20 minutes to go, when they launched a counterattack that put Ramon Lopes in a one-on-one situation with keeper Khasif and the former tapped home to make it 3-0.

This marked Al Jazira’s second defeat of the season. They, however, remain second, five points below leaders Sharjah.  Khorfakkan grabbed their fourth win of the season and are currently 11th on 14 points.

Earlier, Shabab Al Ahli returned to winning ways after beating Al Nasr 1-0 in the derby at Rashid Stadium on Friday.

Shabab Al Ahli grabbed the win thanks to Yahya Al Ghassani’s debut goal with his new team, after joining Shabab Al Ahli from Al Wahda during the winter transfer window.

The first half ended goalless after both teams failed to create real goalscoring chances on both sides. Yahya Al Ghassani then broke the deadlock in the 50th minute following a pass from Cartabia on the right side.

Al Nasr failed to equalize in the remaining minutes, as Shabab Al Ahli grabbed their fourth win so far, while Al Nasr suffered their third defeat of the season.

Shabab Al Ahli raised their tally to 19 points, while the Blues are on 24 points.

Meanwhile, Ajman earned their first win of the season after beating Fujairah 2-1 at Rashid Bin Saeed Stadium on Friday.

The hosts piled on pressure in the first half in search for an opening goal, as Bubacarr Trawally missed three real chances to break the deadlock.

Ajman’s pressure finally paid off, as Modibo Maïga eventually opened the scoring in the 27th minute, as he sent a powerful left-footed strike into the back of Abdullah Al Tamimi’s net.

The Oranges then capitalized on a defensive error, with Brazilian Diego Jardel netting the second two minutes before the break.

The hosts relied on counterattacks in the second half, while putting in a strong defensive performance. They, however, conceded a late penalty, after Farley Rosa converted from the spot deep into injury time.

The Oranges raised their tally to six points in the 13th place, one spot below Fujairah who are on seven points.