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Al Ahli 2-1 Al Wahda: Al Ahli leave it late again

Al Ahli came from a goal down to snatch an injury time winner against a resolute Al Wahda team in Round 2 of the Arabian Gulf League at Al Wasl’s Zabeel Stadium. The visitors had taken a first-half lead through Sebastian Tagliabue but Grafite sealed all three points for his side with a well-taken brace. Al Ahli now have maximum points from their first two League games, whilst Al Wahda followed their opening day home win with an away loss.

Al Ahli fell behind in the 9th minute as they failed to deal with a long ball. A miscommunication between centre-back Yousif Al Sayed and goalkeeper Saif Yousif led to the latter missing his attempted clearance, leaving Al Wahda’s Argentinian forward Sebastian Tagliabue with an empty net to aim for. The summer signing gladly accepted the invitation to score his second goal in as many League matches, giving Al Wahda a 1-0 lead. Al Ahli made attacking strides forward in response but struggled to split a tight Al Wahda defense, and it was the visitors again who carved out a good chance as Al Ahli goalkeeper Saif Yousif had to be alert to save from Suhail Al Mansoori’s header in the 26th minute. It took until the 43rd minute for Al Ahli to muster a decent shot on target, with Basheer Saeed’s free kick from distance working Adel Alhosani in the Al Wahda goal. Two minutes later, Al Ahli made their pressure pay off as a determined run down the left from Ciel resulted in the award of a penalty following a handball in the box by Hussain Fadel. Grafite stepped up to take the spot kick and though it was initially stopped by Alhosani, the Brazilian striker was on hand to follow up and immediately convert the rebound, getting Al Ahli back on level terms on the stroke of half time.

Al Ahli were fired up for the second half and in the 51st minute Ciel slid a ball across the face of goal which was begging for an outstretched leg to complete a simple tap-in, but neither Grafite nor Ismael Al Hammadi could make a connection. Eight minutes later Walid Abbas, on an impressive return after surgery and a long injury lay-off and making his debut for new club Al Ahli, skipped past two Al Wahda players and steamed forward down the left but his measured ball into the box was just too long for Grafite to reach. In the 67th minute Al Wahda’s Mahmoud Khamis saw his free kick from distance fly wide, and Al Ahli brought on Adnan Hussein and Ahmad Khalil in place of Al Hammadi and Luis Jiminez to bolster their attacking options as both sides went in search of a winner. In the 88th minute Grafite hit one on the turn in the box but he couldn’t catch the ball cleanly and Adel Alhosani was able to make a comfortable catch. Al Ahli suffered a late scare in injury time as Al Wahda threatened in the area but Adnan Hussein was back to clear, setting off a swift counter-attack. Walid Abbas switched play from the left with a cross-field ball to Ciel on the right, and the Brazilian found his compatriot Grafite in the area who slotted a composed finish into the goal and made it 2-1.