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Al Dhafra 3-1 Al Ahli: Arabian Gulf Super Cup winners beaten

Al Ahli suffered an unexpected defeat on the road in their opening UAE League Cup fixture, losing 3-1 to a hard-working Al Dhafra side at the Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium in the western region on Wednesday evening. Al Ahli, possibly jaded following their Arabian Gulf Super Cup triumph five days previously, were missing seven key Emirati players away on international duty and several others through injury, but Cosmin Olaroiu still fielded a strong side with stars such as Grafite, Luis Jiminez, Hugo Viana and Ciel all in the starting line-up. Three first half goals were enough to seal victory for Dr. Abdullah Misfer’s Al Dhafra, who now have three points in Group B.

It was the home side who took an unexpected lead as early as the 9th minute, as new Moroccan signing Kamel Chafni’s free kick was headed on target by Makhete Diop. Al Ahli goalkeeper Saif Yousif parried the shot directly into the path of the onrushing Bandar Mohammed, who made no mistake from close range to put Al Dhafra 1-0 up. Al Ahli almost hit back immediately through some route one football, as Ciel latched onto a long pass to force a save from Abdulla Sultan at the near post in the 10th minute. A fluid Al Dhafra side doubled their lead after 27 minutes when Bandar Mohammed’s cross from the right drifted into the box and an unmarked Kamel Chafni was allowed a free header, which he dispatched with aplomb beyond a static Saif Yousif to make it 2-0. Al Ahli attempted to fight back with a positive move from debutant Humaid Abbas, and in the 41st minute Grafite almost pulled one back when he flashed a header just wide from a Luis Jiminez free kick. But a minute later things went from bad to worse for the visitors as Al Dhafra raced into a 3-0 lead when Abdulsalam Jumaa set up Chafni, whose shot from distance took a deflection off Amer Mubarak to divert the ball beyond the reach of Saif Yousif in the 42nd minute.

After the restart it was Al Dhafra who went dangerously close to going even further in front as Makhete Diop met a corner powerfully with his head, but his 50th-minute effort clattered off the underside of the crossbar and back out to safety. Three minutes later, Al Ahli showed a flash of what they are capable of with a flowing move as Luis Jiminez burst through the middle of the park, sliding the ball out to Ciel on the right, who set up his compatriot Grafite to pull a goal back with a composed finish. Sensing a comeback on the cards, Amer Mubarak tried his luck from distance in the 57th minute but his pelting shot didn’t dip fast enough to creep in under the crossbar. Grafite went close again in the 67th minute as he called Al Dhafra goalkeeper Abdulla Sultan into action, and he was forced into another save two minutes later from Basheer Saeed’s strong free kick from distance. Despite Al Ahli’s rallies to get back into the game, Al Dhafra remained organised and defensively strong to keep the score at 3-1.