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Al Shabab overcome hosts Al Dhafra with a solitary goal

 

Dubai-based Al Shabab moved to third place in the Etisalat Pro-League after beating hosts team Al Dhafra with a solitary goal in round 14 match played this evening at Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium in the Western Region which looked almost empty as a few number of fans attended this game. The winners raised their tally to 23 points while the losers are in 10th spot with 12 points.

The two teams failed to create dangerous attacks and could not create even a single real attack for more than 30 minutes as most of their performance was concentrated at the midfield zone. The visitors were the better side after making some good attacks but could not find the target. They continued their raids looking for an early goal and soon their work yielded the first goal of the match when Ali Mohammed received a pass outside the box, stepped forward before launching a rocket-like left footer that went straight into the net giving his side a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. The home team made some forays to level the score and bring the game to the first square, but all their attempts were in vain.

On the other hand, the visiting team spurred by their lone goal, made some good efforts that caused some trouble to the hosts' defense line, but they could not net more goals to end the first session with a 1-0 win.

Both teams played brilliantly after the break producing a neat display which was marred by high concentration, accurate passes and dangerous attacks. Mohammad Salim, the hosts' team dynamic player who scored one goal since the start of this season, came close to net the equalizer when he squeezed from the left flank and sent a severe shot that rebounded off the upright eight minutes into the second half. Waleed Abbas could have made it 2-0 for Al Shabab when he sent a perfect header in the 67th minute had not for Al Dhafra's goalie Hamad Al Tamimi who saved the ball bravely for the defense to clear it away. But the visitors missed the efforts of their player Essa Obaid who was shown the red card two minutes later for his team to play the last 20 minutes with only ten players. The home squad reached the visitors' goal area many times but they failed to score because their strikers did not produce their normal performance. Their front liner Boris Kabie was unhappy to see his header rebound off the cross bar in the 70th minute. In spite of the continuous raids made by both teams in the last minutes but things remained the same till referee Ammar AL Junaibi blew off his final whistle to end the game with a sole goal for Al Shabab.