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Al Ain outclass Al Wahda with a solitary goal to take the lead

 

Al Ain continued their unbeaten march in the Etisalat Cup after defeating their traditional rivals Al Wahda with a solitary goal in the 8th round tonight’s match played at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The winners jumped one step forward to top Group “A” with 14 points while the hosts slipped to second position with 13 points. Al Ain are remained with two more games in the preliminary stage where they will take on Al Nasr and Al Shaab in round 9 and 10 respectively while Al Wahda have one match at hand when they face Dubai in round 9.

The two sides started the game with great care and more concentration to avoid conceding an early goal which might make things difficult for the losers. Both demonstrated male display and even failed to create dangerous attacks for more than half an hour and despite of this fact the hosts were the better side after making a number of forays that were spoiled easily by Al Ain defenders. The only real chance that came one minute into the stoppage time was capitalized by French striker Ekoko who received the ball inside the box to send a strong shot that beat Al Wahda goalie Adil Al Hosani to give Al Ain a first half 1-0 lead.

Al Wahda doubled their efforts after the breather with all the hope to level the score, but their rivals gave them no room to reach their objective. Al Ain also made some good attempts and Alex Brosque came close to add the second goal with a perfect header in the 78th minute, but Al Wahda keeper Adil Al Hosani succeeded in tipping the ball over the cross bar. Al Ain defender Mohammed Salem committed a severe blunder in the last minute of the injury time but Papa Waigo failed to score for the goalkeeper Mahmoud Al Mas spoiled his attempt.

Both sides went on their attempts but the situation remained the same till the final whistle.