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AL shabab beat Al Ahli to top the standings provisionally

Dubai-based Al Shabab have made a good step to top the standings of the 2nd group of the Etisalat Cup Competition provisionally  with 7 points following their 1-0 victory over hosts Al Ahli in the game played on Friday November 19th  in the 1st day of round 4 . The Brazilian player Julio Cesar netted the solitary goal with a perfect header six minutes to the final whistle. The home team are in the 3rd place with 4 points and they may slip to the 4th place if Al Jazira (4 points) or Sharjah (2 points) win in their Saturday’s match.

The losers were the better side in the 1st half after launching a number of raids but for their bad fortune they lost all the chances that came their way. The winners also failed to score before the break to end the 1st session with a goalless draw. But Al Shabab recovered after halftime to control the game. They came close to score in many occasions, but the hosts’ defenders did not allow them to find the back of the net. Both squads made some good efforts to add more goals but all their work went in vain. Al Shabab came close to add their 2nd goal when Mahmoud Gasim sent a fierce shot off a stand ball but it rebounded off the right up in the 89th minute.

In the 2nd match of the day, Bani Yas received their 1st defeat when they lost at home to Dubai with a 2-0 defeat.  This defeat forced the losers to step downward as runners-up  with 7 points after Al Nasr have collected the same tally of points and remain as leaders on goal difference, while Dubai have raised their tally to 5 points in the 3rd spot. Baca Kamara put his side in the lead only 16 minutes into the game and his French teammate Michel Laurent added the 2nd in the last minute. Bani Yas may lose even the 2nd place if Al Ain emerge winners in their match against Al Dhafra due to kick off on Saturday November 20th.

Al Nasr have added 3 valuable points after defeating visitors Al Wahda with a solitary goal in the last match of round 4 played on Friday at the winners’ pitch. The two teams played a well balanced game to end the 1st session with a goalless draw. Ismail Bangoura from Ghenia netted the lone goal of the match in the 69th minute when he capitalized on his teammate Carlos Tennerio’s perfect pass. Tennerio was to make it 2-0 four minutes later but his close range shot went over the cross bar. He also found a valuable chance inside the six yard area but his perfect header missed the target. The winners have moved to the top of group “B” with 7 points whereas Al Wahda are the bottom of this group with a single point.