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Etisalat Pro League Round 22 Review

Round 22 of the Etisalat Pro League was dominated by the confirmation that Al Ain had successfully retained their second consecutive title after recording a 3-0 win over Dubai on Thursday night. Asamoah Gyan’s hat-trick sent the Al Ain fans, players, management and staff into rapturous celebrations upon the final whistle at the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium, as Al Ain became the first Club since the formation of the professional league in the UAE to win back-to-back championships. Gyan’s trio of goals – two headers and one volley – takes the Ghanaian striker to a total of 28 scored in the League this season, top of the scoring charts, and he has scored a half-century of Pro League goals since his arrival in the UAE 19 months ago. Al Ain have won the title with four games remaining in the campaign, and will now turn their attentions to Tuesday night’s tough away trip to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League, having had an extra day of preparation after the League match was brought forward. Dubai, meanwhile, continue their indifferent form of the second half of the season, but sit relatively safely in 10th place.

Al Ain were not the only team to play a day ahead of schedule, after Al Jazira also requested to move their match forward. Kicking off at 6:05pm on Friday at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Spanish coach Luis Milla finally presided over his first League win since taking charge of the Club as Al Jazira beat Kalba 3-1. Spectacular goals from Ricardo Oliveira, Subait Khater and Ali Mabkhout put Al Jazira three up before Amer Deeb scored a consolation for the visitors from the penalty spot in the 7th minute of added time. Al Jazira sit 5th in the League but are level on points with 4th-placed Al Nasr, whilst Kalba are all but relegated as they remain rooted to the bottom of the table with just 10 points; 8 adrift from safety.

Thursday’s encounter between Al Dhafra and Al Shaab saw six goals split equally between the two sides as they drew 3-3 at the Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium. Makhete Diop put the home side into the lead before Faisal Khalil equalised, and Michael Laurent Ndri scored his first of the game to take the lead for the visitors. Al Dhafra drew back level through Mahmoud Awadh before Ndri bagged his brace, but Al Dhafra salvaged a point with a late goal from Hassan Zahran to maintain their six-game unbeaten run. Al Dhafra are 8th in the League whilst Al Shaab moved a point further away from the drop zone, as they now have a 4-point cushion in 12th place.

Al Nasr travelled to Dibba Al Fujairah on Friday night and returned to Dubai with all three points in the bag. A brace from Bruno Cesar and a goal from Leonardo Lima gave Al Nasr a 3-1 away victory, with Alex Medeiros netting Dibba’s only goal of the game. The win keeps Al Nasr 4th in the table, whilst time is running out for Dibba Al Fujairah to pull off a great escape as they sit second from bottom and 4 points off safety.

Saturday’s first 6pm kick-off saw Al Wasl grab a last-gasp winner over local rivals Al Shabab at the Zabeel Stadium. Emiliano Alfaro was at the double for Al Wasl, whilst Edgar Bruno got on the scoresheet for the visitors. Al Wasl still remain 9th in the table but have increased their points tally to 27, whilst Al Shabab are 6th with 33 points at the close of Round 22.

Also kicking off at 6 o’clock, Ajman hosted Bani Yas in a game that ended 3-3 at the Rashid bin Saeed Stadium. Bani Yas took an early lead through Swedish winder Christian Wilhelmsson before being pegged back twice by a double from Founeke Sy, which sandwiched another Bani Yas goal by Khalid Mubarak. Boris Kabi put the home side into the lead with his 19th League goal of the season, but Nawaf Mubarak snatched a point in injury time to save Bani Yas from defeat. Bani Yas remain 3rd but slip three points behind second-placed Al Ahli, whilst Ajman are 11th with 23 points.

Ending Round 22’s action Al Ahli eased past Al Wahda, winning 2-0 at their temporary base of Al Shabab’s Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium. Goals from Adnan Al Beloshi and Ismael Al Hammadi handed the victory to Al Ahli after Al Wahda had put up a tough defense for the best part of an hour, but they could not prevent Quique Flores’ men from tightening their grip on 2nd place in the League with 45 points, whilst Al Wahda remain in 7th with 32 at the close of the round.