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Makhete Diop leads Al Dhafra to overcome Kalba with a solitary goal

 

With a solitary goal scored by Makhete Diop, Al Dhafra overcame Ittihad Kalba in the Etisalat Pro League round 20 game held tonight at Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium in the Western Region. Diop netted the lone goal with a perfect header in the 62nd minute to help his side  raise their tally to 24 points in the 8th position while Ittihad Kalba are still at the bottom of the table with 10 points,

 The hosts did not wait long before putting continuous pressure from the word go on Ittihad Kalba’s defense hoping to score an early goal that would give them more confidence, boost their morals and help them to play calmly. Al Dhafra players, led by their experienced stars including the duo brothers Abdulsalam and Abdulraheem Jumaa, Makhete Diop and Saif Mohamed, built a bagful of continuous forays but failed to put up the required danger on Kalba who relied heavily of defensive tactics depending on counter attacks that led by Edward Sadomba. 

In fact, Ittihad Kalba might have taken a shock lead against the run of play in the 30th minute when Sadomba received a long pass and stepped forward towards the goalkeeper Khalid Al Sinani but for his bad fortune he fumbled at the edge of the box squandering a valuable chance. 

The two teams continued with the same level of play with Sadomba coming close to score off a strong volley in the last minute of the first session but his attempt was saved bravely by Kalba’s custodian to end the first half with a scoreless draw.

Ittihad Kalba looked the better side after the break as they started to play an attacking football and their striker Edward Sadomba came close to scoring two minutes into the second half but the keeper Khalid Al Sinani spoiled his attempt. Badar Mohamed replied with a fierce shot that deflected brilliantly by the goalie to a corner kick in the 54th minute.  But it was Al Dhafra who took the lead in the 62nd  minute when Makhete Diop headed home the dead ball switched by Rodrigo Souza in front of the goal mouth.

 The two squads went on their attempts looking for more goals with Al Dhafra endeavoring to double their advantage and the visiting team trying to level the scores. Junior Marques of Kalba tested his luck but his strong left-footed volley was deflected by the goalkeeper before being sent away by a defender 12 minutes to time. Things remained the same till the end of the game for Al Dhafra to snatch full points with a lone-goal win.