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Al Ahli punish Al Wasl with emphatic 4-0 win

Al Ahli came out on top in the Dubai derby as they thrashed near-neighbours Al Wasl 4-0 with a clinical display of finishing at the Rashed Stadium on Friday night. Quique Flores’ side now sit on 30 points, but remain fourth in the League as 3rd-placed Bani Yas also secured a win this evening. Al Wasl, meanwhile, remain in 9th position on 17 points.

The home team only needed 8 minutes to get ahead in the game, as Abdelaziz Husein’s cross was collected by the Chilean attacking midfielder Luis Antonio Jiminez, who broke the deadlock with a right-footed strike. Al Ahli doubled their lead when UAE national team striker Ahmad Khalil latched onto a through ball and split the Al Wasl defence in the 23rd minute, slotting the ball past Al Wasl goalkeeper Rashed Ali with a cool finish.

Al Wasl immediately threatened after going 2-0 down, as Achille Emana’s shot crept just wide of the left hand post in the 26th minute. It would prove a day of wayward shooting by the Cameroonian midfielder, whose attempts on goal lacked accuracy on several occasions. Al Ahli’s star January signing, Portuguese trickster Ricardo Quaresma, showed his class with a fine free kick in the 42nd minute, forcing a good save from Rashed Ali. The teams retreated to the dressing rooms with Al Ahli 2-0 in front at half time.

As the second half got underway, it was much of the same from both sides as Al Ahli continued to trouble Al Wasl’s shaky defence. In the 68th minute, Ismaeel Al Hammadi teased a dangerous ball into the box, and Al Wasl defender Yaser Salam failed to clear his lines as confusion reigned in the area. Al Ahli’s Yousif Mohamed was the quickest to take decisive action, slotting the ball home to put Al Ahli 3-0 up.

Rounding off the scoring, the skillful Jiminez notched up an assist as his fine pass split the Al Wasl defence and found Al Hammadi, who despatched a powerful shot past Rashed Ali in the visitors’ goal, making it 4-0 to Al Ahli in the 75th minute. It was the home side who posed more attacking threat for the remainder of the game, and they could have increased the scoreline even further had Rashed Ali not been equal to their further shots on target. Al Wasl’s finishing continued to let them down as several set-piece opportunities were wasted, and the game finished in a 4-0 victory to Al Ahli.