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Al Shabab trounce Al Wahda 2-1 and Emirates beat Dubai by the same margin
Al Shabab collected their first three valuable points in the Etisalat Pro-League with a 2-1 win over Al Wahda in the match played this evening at Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in the first round of the Etisalat Pro-League.
In spite of the balanced performance demonstrated by both teams in the opening minutes, but they played with great care with the defenders keeping an open eye on the attackers so as not to concede a goal. But the hosts' squad Al Shabab were the first to score the first goal his team in the season only 13 minutes into the game. Al Wahda's hapless defender Essa Santo tried to return the ball to his team mate Hamdan Al Kamaly but he sent a short pass for the Chilean player Carlos Villanueva to collect the ball, moved forward before sending a perfect cross to Jo Da Silva (Ceil) on the opposite side who headed the ball home to the right hand side of the goalkeeper Motaz Abdullah who failed to control it. Inspired by this early goal, the home team controlled the game putting more pressure on their rivals' defense trying to add more goals, but Al Wahda's defenders stood solid on their way spoiling all their attempts.
At the same time, Al Wahda made some good efforts trying to level the score, but their attempts were not so dangerous because Al Shabab' defenders tightened their grip on their opponents' dangerous striker Ismail Matar who was in lack of support from his mid field players. But Essa Santo, who made a severe blunder which was exploited by Al Shabab in taking the lead, came to level the result in the 21st minute when a flak kick rebounded off the upright for Essa to drive the ball home making it 1-1. Both teams went on their attacking performance but could not find the target to end the first session with a 1-1- draw.
The Iranian player Aziz Haydarov came close to make it 2-1 for the hosts team, but his strong volley off a dead ball was saved bravely by Alwahda's custodian Motaz Abdullah, the of the match.
The two teams went on their attempts creating some scoring chances, but they couldn't hit the back of the net. The game turned into tough play for the match referee Hamad Al sheikh to show the red card twice for Villanueva of Al Shabab and Mohammad Al Shaiba of Al Wahda ten minutes to the end. Both teams completed the last ten minutes of the match with ten players.
Ciel of Al Shabab made things beyond the reach of Al Wahda's team when he scored a last minute goal to end the game with a 2-1 victory for his side and secure them the first three points in the league competition.
In the second match of the day, Emirates started their league campaign beating the visiting team 2-1 in the encounter played at the winners' Stadium in Ras Al Khaimah. The winners ended the first half with a 1-0 lead through Al Hassan Keita in the 12 minute who netted the first goal in the season. His colleague Faisal Ahmed added the second four minutes after the interval. Mohammad Ibrahim pulled one back 8 minutes before the final whistle.