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Spirited Dibba Al Fujairah fight back to win 3-2 at Al Wasl

A spirited Dibba Al Fujairah performance earned the struggling side an invaluable 3-2 win away at Al Wasl, giving them real hope of surviving the relegation battle. Dibba fought back from conceding an early goal in the opening seconds to take three precious points away from the Zabeel Stadium, increasing their tally to 14 in the Etisalat Pro League. Al Wasl continued their disappointingly inconsistent form with the home defeat leaving them on 24 points after 21 games so far this season.

Al Wasl got off to a dream start as they went ahead straight from the kick-off, as Khalifa Abdulla broke through and finished calmly with only 11 seconds on the clock. The home side continued to threaten as a cross from Achille Emana on the right was almost glanced on by Emiliano Alfaro in the 6th minute, and Fahad Hadeed was particularly productive in attack, winning a free kick right on the edge of the area after a fine individual run, but Jussie Ferreira’s effort from the set piece was comfortably over the crossbar. In the 17th minute Dibba Al Fujairah registered their first shot on target but Mohamed Alantaly’s effort was tame and straight at Ahmed Mahmoud in the Al Wasl goal. Fahad Hadeed worked the keeper a minute later at the other end of the pitch, and Achille Emana blasted a promising free kick wastefully over the bar in the 19th minute. Dibba Al Fujairah started to work their way back into the game, putting pressure on Al Wasl’s back line as Samuel Ocran made a nuisance of himself. In the 35th minute the visitors got their reward as Alex Medeiros squared the ball in the penalty area for Mohamed Alantaly to complete a simple tap-in to equalise at 1-1. Encouraged by getting back on level terms, Dibba Al Fujairah continued to stride forward and Samuel Ocran forced a strong save just three minutes after getting a goal back. Al Wasl stirred just before the break, with Fahad Hadeed again causing trouble down the right and Emana heading over the bar from a corner, but the score remained level at half time.

It was Dibba Al Fujairah who came out of the blocks quicker at the start of the second period of play, as the visitors raced into a shock lead in the 50th minute. Khalid Masoud beat Al Wasl goalkeeper Ahmed Mahmoud at the near post and his shot somewhat fortunately cannoned off the upright and into the net to put Dibba Al Fujairah 2-1 up. Al Wasl’s defense looked wobbly after going behind, with Luiz Fernando’s passing proving effective for Dibba Al Fujairah. But Al Wasl found their feet again and equalised in fine fashion just after the hour mark. Achille Emana cut the ball into the box from the right flank and Khalifa Abdulla was on hand with a fine finish into the top corner to bag his brace and make it 2-2 in the 62nd minute. With renewed encouragement from the home fans, Al Wasl made strides forward and two minutes later Emana saw his effort trickle just wide of the far post. In the 67th minute Jussie Ferreira won a free kick in a dangerous position on the left of the area, and Emana’s right-footed shot from the resulting set piece had to be firmly punched away by Mohamed Alrowaihy. A matter of minutes later, the Dibba Al Fujairah goalkeeper was caught off-guard as Mubarak Hassan surprised everyone and ghosted in behind the visiting defense, sending a powerful header goalwards, but Dibba were relieved to see the unexpected effort sail just wide of the far post. Dr. Abdullah Misfer made two substitutions in the 70th and 75th minutes, bringing on Adel Al Hammadi and Ahmed Malalla for Ahmed Murad Ali and Alex Medeiros respectively, and it seems the changes paid off as Dibba remarkably stormed back into the lead in the 78th minute. A corner floated into the box was headed across goal and in at the far post by Bilal Najaren, who rose above his markers to put Dibba Al Fujairah 3-2 up. Eid Baroot reacted immediately, bringing off Achille Emana and Khalifa Abdulla to be replaced by the fresh legs of Hassan Yousuf and Mohamed Naser, but the two had little chance to make an impact on the game. Al Wasl’s woes were worsened when Fahad Hadeed was sent off with a straight red card in injury time, just seconds after being booked. The ten men tried to rally for a point during the five added minutes but it was too little, too late as Dibba left with all the points.