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Al Nasr’s patience pays off with late 1-0 win at Al Wahda

Al Nasr snatched a late winner at the Al Nahyan Stadium, downing Al Wahda 1-0 with a Leonardo Lima goal in injury time after a defensively disciplined display. Walter Zenga’s men – who are in the midst of a run of nine games being played in the space of a month – worked tirelessly to take three points back to Dubai, lifting their tally to 36 in the Etisalat Pro League and moving them temporarily up to 4th in the League prior to Al Jazira's visit to Al Shabab tomorrow, whilst Al Wahda remain on 32 points in 6th place after the home loss.

Less than a minute into the match, Al Nasr’s Brazilian Bruno Cesar went close with an effort that flashed across the face of goal. With both teams playing at a high tempo, it was Al Nasr who continued to get closer to finding a way through as Takayuki Morimoto found space just inside the area but saw his shot rise narrowly over the crossbar in the 11th minute. In a game of end-to-end action, Al Wahda’s best chances came from a number of set pieces in promising positions, but Al Nasr goalkeeper Ahmad Shambieh commanded his area well to extinguish any real danger. Whilst the home side may have retained more possession going forward, Al Nasr’s defense were well-organised - marshalled particularly well by Khaleefa Mubarak – and it was the visitors who created the more clear-cut chances. In the 22nd minute Humaid Ahmed saw his free kick punched behind for a corner by Al Wahda goalkeeper Adel Mohamed, and it was Humaid Ahmed who again called the custodian into action as he stung his palms with a shot from distance in the 36th minute. Three minutes later Morimoto twisted and turned in the box to get a shot away, but it was diverted off target by a crucial block from Al Wahda’s Australian defender Dino Djulbic. Just before half time, Al Wahda midfielder Khalid Jalal launched a rasping shot through a sea of bodies in the box, which Ahmad Shambieh saw late but managed to get a flying hand to the effort to turn it behind as the teams went in level at 0-0 after the first forty-five minutes.

With the second period of play underway, Al Nasr almost took the lead in spectacular fashion as Humaid Abdulla’s long-range drive just shaved the top of the crossbar in the 53rd minute. The hard-working Morimoto continued to threaten for the visitors but Al Nasr couldn’t find that cutting edge in the final third. Humaid Abdulla again went agonisingly close in the 55th minute as he lost his marker and cut in from the right, but his shot from a tight angle was saved well by Adel Mohamed. For Al Wahda, Ismaeil Matar, Marcelinho and Papa Waigo created good buildup play but lacked in final product and were unable to outwit the disciplined defense of Al Nasr. Both coaches introduced substitutions to try and grab a winner, with Branko Ivankovic bringing on Mohammed Al Shehhi in place of Abdulla Saeed in the 63rd minute and Saeed Al Kathiri came on for Marcelinho ten minutes later, whilst Walter Zenga replaced Humaid Ahmed and Bruno Cesar with Habib Al Fardan and Younus Ahmed in the 74th minute. Habib Al Fardan almost had an instant impact a minute after coming on as he outwitted the Al Wahda goalkeeper and rolled an inviting cross right across the face of the unguarded net, but nobody was there to convert a simple tap-in and the chance went begging. Seconds later Al Wahda raced up to the other end and captain Ismaeil Matar struck a vicious shot from range but Shambieh was equal to it. It was going to take something spectacular to break the deadlock and in the 78th minute Humaid Abdulla had another pop at goal from distance for Al Nasr, but whilst he managed to keep his shot low it whizzed just wide of the upright. In the 84th minute Ismaeil Matar almost capitalized on a poor goal kick from Shambieh, but the young goalkeeper’s defense got back to bail him out of trouble and block the Al Wahda captain’s attempt. All Al Nasr’s hard work and patience paid off in the second minute of injury time as they finally found a way through. Humaid Abdulla turned cleverly in the area and played a delightful through-ball for Leonardo Lima to run onto, and the Al Nasr captain made no mistake in slotting the ball home with his right foot to give his side a 1-0 win in the dying moments.