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Al Shabab beat Al Wasl 3-1 to move to third position

 

Al Shabab added three valuable points to their tally following their deserved 3-1 victory over hosts Al Wasl in their Etisalat Pro-League competition encounter played today evening at the losers' stadium. Al Wasl slipped one step downward to sit in 4th spot with 24 points while Al Shabab moved to third position after raising their balance to 27 points. The winners were the better side through the match after playing with more concentration in the front line. Al Wasl relied heavily on counter attacks, trying to close all gaps that could lead to their net. Julio Cesar of Al Shabab came close to net an early goal when he sent a rocket-like only 9 minutes into the game, but Majid Naser saved brilliantly for a defender to clear the ball away.

Al Shabab controlled the game putting more pressure on their rivals' defense, but could not score despite of the bagful of chances that came their way. Al Wasl failed to create dangerous opportunities as all their raids did not threaten their contenders' custodian. Both teams could not benefit off their chances to end the first session with a goalless draw.

Al Shabab did not wait long time after the break before taking the lead via Brazilian player Julio Cesar in the 5th minute with a long-range volley that beat Al Wasl's Keeper Majid Naser. The winners continued to control the match giving their rivals hard time. They made a number of raids and they came close to score in many occasions. Their continuous attacks soon yielded the second goal when Carlos Villanueva made it 2-0 in the 61th minute with a strong shot. Villanueva came six minutes later to score one of the best goals in the season. He received the ball out of the box, rounded up three defenders before hooking it over the advancing goalkeeper netting the third goal. Al Wasl scored a consolation goal when the referee awarded them a penalty in the 80 minute after Waleed Abbas brought down Yeste from Spain inside the six yard area who converted the ball into the net. The losers' player Ali Mahmoud was shown the red card in the 83rd minute for his team to play the last 7 minutes with only ten players.