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Dubai 2-2 Al Shaab: Visitors fight back to draw

Al Shaab fought back from two goals down to take a point from a 2-2 draw with Dubai in Group A of the UAE League Cup on Sunday evening. Goals from former Al Nasr striker Bruno Cesar and Rami Yaslam had given Dubai a 2-0 cushion at half time, but Al Shaab’s Mohammed Malalla and Michael Laurent Ndri were on target to share the spoils. Both teams now have a point each after two group games in the competition.

Bruno Cesar’s Dubai debut got off to a dream start, beating the offside trap to slam home a clever Hassan Abdelrahman chip in just the second minute of the match to give his new side an early 1-0 lead. Making their home advantage count, Dubai took control of the game and could have gone further ahead in the 20th minute when a header by Sultan Saif Salim from a Hassan Abdelrahman corner was cleared off the line by Al Shaab’s Ahmad Eissa Kamel. Keen not to be overrun, Al Shaab fashioned a chance of their own nine minutes later as an extraordinary goalmouth scramble ensued. A teasing Al Shaab cross whipped in from the right was turned onto the underside of his own crossbar by Dubai goalkeeper Jamal Abdallah Ali, with the ball bouncing back into the box to eventually be squeezed safely over the bar by a desperate Dubai defense. Despite another decent effort for Al Shaab to follow - a well-worked free kick ending with Juma Sanqoor firing a powerful shot just wide from the edge of the box – it was Dubai who were to get their noses further in front in the 36th minute. Showing great persistence by the corner flag, Mohamed Ismail robbed the Al Shaab defense and squeezed a ball through to Dubai’s other new Brazilian signing Andre Alves, who delivered a cross for Rami Yaslam to fire into the net.

Having gone into the break at 2-0 down, Marius Sumudica’s Al Shaab side came out for the second half with nothing to lose and soon their determined play was rewarded with a goal to get them back in the tie. A cross whipped into the box was met cleanly by an Al Shaab head, beating the goalkeeper but thwarted by the post. Luckily for the visitors, Mohammed Malalla had anticipated well and was on hand to tap home the rebound in the 57th minute. With Al Shaab in the ascendency, Michael Laurent Ndri blasted over from close range four minutes later, but in the 77th minute he made his effort count as the teams got back on level ground. An excellent move inspired by Saoud Faraj saw the first-half substitute display pace and power to carry the ball from the halfway line into the box, where he unselfishly squared for his French teammate to thunder an equaliser past Jamal Abdallah Ali and make it 2-2.