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Al Ain beat Dubai 2-1 to keep chasing leaders Al Wahda

Al Ain kept their chasing to Etisalat Cup Group “A” leaders Al Wahda following their 2-1 win over visiting team Dubai in the 7th round match held tonight at Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium in Qattara. The winners raised their tally to 11 points, to remain in second position with two points behind Al Wahda while Dubai have lost their chance to qualify to the semifinals after collecting only four points that put them in 4th spot.


The hosts did not wait long before taking the lead only two minutes into play when Mohammed Salem Al Saady received a lovely forward pass before sending a strong volley giving his side an early advantage. Both teams created a number of scoring opportunities afterwards but could not find the target to end the first session with a 1-0 lead for the home team.

Things remained unchanged after the break up to the 74th minute when Mohammed Salem Al Saady added his second goal making it 2-0 capitalizing on Radoi’s perfect pass. Rami Yaslam reduced the deficit with a rocket-like volley five minutes to time and Ekoko failed to score from the penalty spot when the match referee awarded Al Ain a penalty after Dubai defender Mohammed Jamal fouled Brosque three minutes to time.


Dubai finished the game with ten men when their player Yousuf Al Hamadi was red carded in the 73rd minute after collecting two yellow cards.

In the second game Al Dhafra hardened Group “B” leaders Al Wasl defeating them 3-2 in the game played at Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium in the Western Region to revive their hopes for securing a berth in the semifinal stage. Al Dhafra went on top of the group with 9 points before Al Jazira-Bani Yas encounter tonight’s match whereas Al Wasl slipped to second place with the same balance of points.

The hosts ended the first half leading 2-0 that netted by Anas bani Yassen and Makhete Diop in the 17th and 27th minutes respectively. Abdulrahim Jama’a added the third in the 56th minute before Amar Mubarak and Al Faro came to reduce the deficit scoring two goals in two minutes, 86th and 87th, to end the game with a 3-2 result in favour of Al Dhafra.