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Al Ain remain on top with a 3-0 away win over Bani Yas

Round 11’s top-of-the-table clash between first-placed Al Ain and their closest competitors Bani Yas took place at the Bani Yas Stadium tonight, ending in an impressive 3-0 victory for the visitors. With the hosts Bani Yas having the best defensive record in the league prior to kick-off, and Al Ain scoring freely with 42 goals so far this season, all spectators were waiting to see whether attack or defence would come out on top in this contest.


The league leaders, at full strength for the game with no injuries or suspensions, made their intentions clear from the outset by fashioning their first attack as early as the 2nd minute. Starting as they meant to go on, it only took 10 minutes for the deadlock to be broken by the visiting side. The referee awarded Al Ain a free kick forty yards from goal following a handball by Bani Yas’ Sultan Al Ghaferi, which was lofted into the area by Mirel Radoi. A goalmouth scramble ensued with one shot being headed off the line, but the usually watertight Bani Yas defence could not fully clear and Al Ain’s Jires Kembo-Ekoko kept his composure to hammer the ball home from 8 yards in a congested penalty box. The goal was Kembo-Ekoko’s 5th of the season.

The home side tried to get back into the game, with Nawaf Mubarak and Senegalese Andre Senghor attempting shots, but keeper Dawoud Sulaiman was not to be beaten between the posts for Al Ain. In fact it was the visitors who had the best chance to score again in the 38th minute when Omer Abdulrahman set up Asamoah Gyan, but the powerful striker uncharacteristically sent his shot just wide of goal with a first-time shot on his left foot. The first fast-paced 45 minutes ended with Al Ain in the driving seat, leading 1-0.

A half time substitution from Bani Yas, bringing on attack-minded Mohamed Zidane, could not stop Al Ain from getting the second half off to a flying start. It was Alex Brosque who doubled the visitors’ lead just two minutes after the restart, controlling a through-ball with his head before ghosting between two defenders to score his 9th goal of the season with a clean left-footed shot.
Trying to get the home side back into the game, speedy winger Adnan Hussain constantly worked his way down the left flank for Bani Yas but could not find an end product.

In the 66th minute Al Ain made their first change of the game, replacing the scorer of the opening goal Kembo-Ekoko with experienced midfielder Ali Al Wihaibi. Bani Yas attempted to change the direction of the game by introducing Amer Al Abdulrahman on 76’ and Haboush Saleh on 80’, but it was too late for them to make an impact. Al Ain also brought on Yaqoob Al Hosani in the 82nd minute to hold onto their lead.


The referee signalled 4 minutes of added time, and the league’s top scorer Asamoah Gyan took this opportunity to continue his magnificent record of scoring in every game he’s played this season, by wrapping up the match with Al Ain’s third goal of the night two minutes into injury time. Gyan picked the ball up on the left hand side, drifted in and curled in a powerful shot with his right foot to make it 3-0 - his 19th goal of the season. The visiting side saw out the last minutes of stoppage time by introducing their final substitute, Mohamed Abdulrahman, and the game finished 3-0 to Al Ain, who now have a six-point lead at the top of the standings.