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Al Wasl regain the League’s top spot

Dubai-based Al Wasl maintained a hard- fought 2-1 victory over Kalba in their match played yesterday in the sixth round of Etisalat Pro-league at the their home ground. The hosts notched their fifth victory in six games to regain first position with 15 points, just ahead of Al Jazira who were on top of the standings for just 24 hours following their win on Saturday with 14 points.

Al Wasl took the lead from a penalty only two minutes from the start when the visitors' defender Mohammed Yousuf brought down Omani player Mohammed Al Shaiba inside the box. Spanish player Yeste converted the ball home, to provide Al Wasl with the perfect start. This goal boosted the home team's moral and they went on to control the match, even though their opponents created some chances and launched a number of solid attacks to try to level the score. Al Wasl's defenders stood solid and succeeded to spoil all of their opponent's attempts.

The hosts worked hard to add more points to the board and their efforts were soon rewarded when Brazilian expatriate Alexander Oliviera was put clear by a defender's error to send a firm left footer into the far corner of the net, making it 2-0 in the 33rd minute. However Kalba struck back when Guinean player Simon sent a long pass to his French teammate Gregory, who faced Al Wasl's custodian Majid Nasr, rounded him up before slamming the ball into the empty net to reduce the deficit to 2-1 four minutes before the break.

Kalba's Salim Jasim came close to equalise the score in the 55th minute but his close-range shot went over the cross bar. Saeed Al Kas of Al Wasl, who substituted Oliviera after the break due to injury, also squandered a similar opportunity when his header missed the target in the 68th minute. Kalba made some solid attempts and put strong pressure on their rivals, making a number of dangerous raids in the last minutes of the game, but unfortunately they could not produce more goals. Their last chance was squandered by Simon when his colleague Gregory sent him a long pass but the goalkeeper Majid Naser blocked his shot in the 75th minutes.

After two successive defeats to Al Nasr 2-3 and Al Wasl 0-4, Al Shabab came out fighting against Sharjah in the other match of the evening. They successfully hindered Sharjah's march up the table with a 3-0 win at Sharjah Stadium. This win sees Al Shabab replace Al Ain in 7th place on the table with nine points, just behind Sharjah who remain in sixth position despite the loss with 10 points.

Both teams failed to find the back of the net in the first half, but the action heated up in the second half. Sharjah's defender Mousa Hatab was given marching orders 10 minutes into second half after collecting two yellow cards, with his side having to play out the rest of the game with one less man. Al Shabab's Carlos Villanueva from Chile, the man of the match, capitalised off Suroor Salim's perfect cross to score the first goal of the match in the 67th minute. Al Shabab continued to make the most of the extra man when Villanueva sent a perfect pass to Brazilian Julio Cesar to add the second goal one minute before the official time. Nasser Masoud then made it 3-0 two minutes into injury time.