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Al Wahda qualify to semifinals

Abu Dhabi-based Al Wahda made their way through successfully to secure themselves a berth in the semifinals of the Etisalat Cup competition after defeating group "A" leaders Al Ain with a solitary goal in the last match of the preliminary stage played this evening at Tahnoon Bin Mohammad Stadium. Hassan Amin netted the all-important goal of the match when he received a lovely pass inside the box and he didn't hesitate to launch a fierce left footer that deflected by the hosts' defender Fawzi Fayez into his own net. The winners raised their tally to 17 points, two behind the losers who have already qualified to the golden square since 'round 9' with a balance of 19 points. Al Wahda's victory dashed Al Dhafra's hope who beat Dubai tonight 3-2 to remain in 3rd position with 15 points. Al Dhafra didn't need only to overcome their rivals Dubai, but at the same time they had to see their opponents Al Wahda loose against Al Ain. So a win was not enough to take Al Dhafra to the next phase.

Al Ain and Al Wahda played a balanced game that marred by a few number of chances through 90 minutes. The home team were the better side in major part of the game and they came close to score in many occasions but their front liners squandered all the opportunities they created specially Juma'a Saeed who lost at least three sitters. The match was heading towards a draw, but Hassan Amin had the decisive word to give the visitors a valuable win. It was the first loss for Al Ain since the start of the competition.

In the other game, Al Nasr ended their participation with a deserved 2-1 victory over Bani Yas in the game played at the losers' pitch. Senegalian player of Bani Yas Senghoor was the first to hit the net to give the hosts a 1-0 lead only 13 minutes into the game. But Khalid Ibrahim leveled for the visitors in the 31 minute to end the first session with a 1-1 draw. Ismael Bangoura added the second goal for Al Nasr in the 62nd minute to secure a win for his side. Al Nasr jumped to the 4th spot with 12 points while Bani Yas remain at the bottom of group "A" with 8 points. Only 53 persons were present at the game.

In the concluding encounter of the day, Al Dhafra got the better of Dubai with a 3-2 win in the game played at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium in the Western region. Abdullah Saeed opened the score for the home team with only seven minutes from the word go and his teammate Hamad Al Hosani made it 2-0 in the 30th.  Hassan Omer pulled one back for the visitors seven minutes later, but Mohammad Bani Hashim scored the third 11 minutes to time before Michael Laurent reduced the tally four minutes later to end the game with a 3-2 result for Al Dhafra.

The leaders of group "B" will be decided on Saturday January 22 when Al Wasl, who are on top of the group with 16 points, face Sharjah and Al Shabab on 2nd position with 15 points meet Al Jazira.