UAE Professional League Committee - UAE Pro League Committee

Al Ain overcome Al Wahda 2-1 to remain on top position

Al Ain continued their winning ways in the Etisalat Pro League for this season after a 2-1 hard fought win over their traditional rivals Al Wahda in the 12^th round match held at Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium in Qattara to remain on top of the table with 31 points while the losers are in sixth position with 18 points.

Saeed Al Katheri was almost to score only one minute into play, but his close-range shot was deflected by Al Ain’s goalkeeper Dawood Sulaiman to a corner. Al Ain controlled the game afterwards and Alex Brosque put them into the lead six minutes from the word go when he received a perfect pass from Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan inside the box. Omer Abdulrahman tested his luck with a left footer but his volley missed the target in the 21^st minute before being fouled four minutes later for a penalty. Gyan failed to score from the penalty spot when the goalkeeper Adil Al Hosani deflected his attempt to a corner. Al Ain’s keeper Dawood made a severe blunder when he sent a weak  ball that controlled by Saeed Al Katheri who tried to drive it into the empty net but for his bad fortune his shot went just close to the upright one minute before the break.

The two teams made some good efforts in the second half but they could not add more goals. Al Katheri brought the match into parity when he netted the equalizer in the 76^th minute. But Al Wahda’s joy did not live long as Asamoah Gyan scored the winner six minutes later with a powerful header. The substitute Mohammed Abdulrahman was red carded due to a tough play against Hamdan Al Kamali minutes before the referee ended the game with a 2-1 win in favour of the host team.

In the other game, Al Wasl came from behind after conceding two goals in the first half to score three after the break to beat Al Shaab 3-2 at Zabeel Stadium. Al Wasl raised their tally to 17 points in 7^th spot against 7 points for Al Shaab who are taking 12^th position.