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Champions Al Ain sign off with 2-1 victory over Al Nasr

Al Ain concluded their Championship-winning 2012-2013 Etisalat Pro League season with a late 2-1 victory against Al Nasr at the Tahnoun bin Mohamed Stadium on Friday evening. The result means Al Ain complete their campaign with a total of 62 points at the top of the table, celebrating a win on the day upon which they were to be officially crowned champions. Al Nasr conclude their season with 39 points and currently in 6th place, though their position could change depending on tomorrow’s results.

Al Nasr made their intentions to spoil Al Ain’s party atmosphere clear early on as they took the lead in just the 9th minute. Al Ain’s defense failed to deal with a teasing cross into the box, with the ball bouncing off the heads of two defenders before Al Nasr’s Brazilian striker Bruno Cesar caught a left-footed shot expertly on the turn, which nestled into the bottom corner of the net to put the visitors 1-0 up. Al Ain tried to respond two minutes later as Ahmed Al Shamisi let rip with a piledriver of a shot from distance but his effort was over the crossbar. Omar Abdulrahman sent a searching cross into the area that was almost headed on by Asamoah Gyan but the Ghanaian could not add to his impressive goals tally in the final game of the season. In the 28th minute it was Al Nasr who came close to grabbing a second, as Habib Al Fardan’s surging run from midfield produced a dangerous cross-come-shot which Al Ain failed to deal with, and Bruno Cesar saw both his follow-up shots blocked on the line. In the 34th minute Al Nasr did have the ball in the back of the net again but Bruno Cesar’s fine finish was ruled out by the referee. Al Ain’s attempts to get back in the game were mainly through strikes from distance, with Omar Abdulrahman seeing his powerful strike from outside the box whistle just past the upright in the 42nd minute. Al Nasr’s Abdulla Mubarak responded a minute later with a cannon from 35 yards to sting the palms of Al Ain goalkeeper Dawoud Sulaiman, and just seconds later at the other end of the pitch, Asamoah Gyan had an attempt which was a carbon-copy of his teammate Omar Abdulrahman’s effort a minute earlier. The energetic Bruno Cesar almost pounced again before the half time break, when he nicked the ball away from the toe of an Al Ain defender but his strike just whistled wide.

Al Ain went in search of an equaliser in the second half, and in the 59th minute Omar Abdulrahman’s corner was headed on by Mohanad Salem, but the effort was cleared on the line by Giuseppe Mascara. Four minutes later Jires Kembo-Ekoko’s shot from range was caught low by Al Nasr’s young goalkeeper Abdulla Mohamed Ismail, but soon he was picking the ball out of the back of his net as the Champions got back on level terms. Dictating play in the centre of midfield, Omar Abdulrahman slid a ball through for Kembo-Ekoko and the Congolese attacker hit a powerful strike past Al Nasr’s custodian to make it 1-1 in the 67th minute. Kembo-Ekoko had his shooting boots on as he tried the spectacular in the 74th minute, sending a dipping strike from distance into the side netting. In the 80th minute Al Nasr’s versatile Italian Giuseppe Mascara saw his free kick from far fly just over the crossbar, but six minutes later he was given his marching orders with a red card for protesting against the referee’s decision to award Al Ain a penalty. Asamoah Gyan duly stepped up to convert the spot kick in the 89th minute to record his 31st League goal of the season.