Late goals help Al Nasr down Hatta; Bani Yas win

Two late goals helped Al Nasr overcome Hatta 2-0 at Al Maktoum Stadium in matchweek 18 of the Arabian Gulf League.

Poor efforts were created by both sides in the first half which ended in a goalless draw. As the game seemed to be headed for a draw, Al Nasr made a late comeback to snatch the three points. Jassim Yaqoob found Ryan Mendes’ inch-perfect pass and made no mistake, scoring the opening goal.

Mendes was at the center of action once more when he doubled his side’s lead with a close-range effort in the fourth minute of injury time.

Al Nasr raised their tally to 33 points in fourth place. Meanwhile, Hatta remained at the bottom of the table with 5 points.

Bani Yas blank Ajman: Bani Yas returned to winning ways after beating Ajman 2-0 at home.

Bani Yas entered the match in a more aggressive manner compared to Ajman and their efforts paid off as Ahmed Abunamous netted a header to break the deadlock in the 23rd minute.

Ajman put in some effort to score the equaliser, but they were denied by Bani Yas’ strong defensive performance.

Ajman suffered a blow in the 83rd minute when Mohamed Ismail was sent off for a rough challenge. Joao Pedro then scored from the spot in the second minute of injury time to seal a 2-0 win.

The Sky Blues now have 36 points in third place, while Ajman remained in 13th place with 9 points

Al Wasl, Al Wahda play draw with: Al Wasl played out a 2-2 draw with Al Wahda on Thursday night.

Al Wasl got off to a quick start, as Fabio de Lima converted from the spot to hand his side a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute.

Myung-joo Lee grabbed the equalizer only three minutes before the break, as they headed into halftime deadlocked at 1-1.

Al Wahda were dealt a blow in the 74th minute when Ruben Amaral was sent off for a rough challenge on Al Wasl striker. The home side were also handed a penalty that was converted by Lima to regain their lead in the 77th minute.

Omar Khribin refused to give up, as he netted a late equaliser from a perfect volley in the 82nd minute to level the scoreline at 2-2.

Al Wahda’s Lucas Pimenta found the back of the net in the first minute of injury time but the goal was ruled out for offside after reviewing the VAR.

Both teams failed to reach the 30-point mark, as they remain tied on 28 points, with Al Wahda sitting seventh and Al Wasl eighth by virtue of a head-to-head record.

Meanwhile, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai’s Uzbek midfielder Azizjon Ganiev has been ruled out for the remainder of the UAE domestic season after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

The seven-time UAE League champions said Ganiev underwent the surgery after suffering the injury during their UAE Pro League match against Al Wahda 10 days ago.

“There are limited options for us at the moment following the injury of several players in the same playing position,” said Shabab Al Ahli head coach Mahdi Ali. “We will miss the efforts of Ganiev and before him, we also lost Waleed Hussein.

“We must adapt to such possible situations in football and prepare the replacements and hope we can find the suitable players to fill the gaps.”

Ganiev is expected to be out of action for six months, which means he will not be available for the club’s 2021 AFC Champions League campaign.

Shabab Al Ahli are in Group A with 2019 AFC Champions League winners Al Hilal SFC, Istiklol of Tajikistan and the winners of the play-off between Qatar’s Al Gharafa and AGMK of Uzbekistan.