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Spirited Kalba surprise Al Nasr with 2-1 win

Kalba pulled off a surprise result at their home ground in Round 17 of the Etisalat Pro League, defeating 6th-placed Al Nasr 2-1 on Thursday evening. The second-from-bottom club secured a precious three points, taking their tally to 10 points as they fight to escape the relegation zone, whilst Al Nasr failed to seize back the 5th place they surrendered to Al Shabab last week, remaining on 25 points.

The home side posed more of an attacking threat in the early stages, registering several corners and shots on target within the first fifteen minutes, and Ahmed Shambieh in the Al Nasr goal was certainly the busier of the two keepers, although none of the saves he had to make were particularly testing. Kalba’s attacking pressure meant that Al Nasr had little chance to break, and whenever the visitors did manage to string together a counter attack it came to nothing.

In the 29th minute, it looked like Kalba had been rewarded for their attacking efforts. Following another corner, Mohamed Malalla was tripped in the box by Al Nasr defender Mahmoud Hassan Darwish and the referee pointed the spot to award a penalty. Kalba’s Abdullah Al Jamhi stepped up to take the spot kick, but he sent a weak right-footed shot straight down the centre and Ahmed Shambieh made a comfortable save to keep the score level at 0-0.

As the game approached the halfway mark, it was in desperate need of a goal to liven up the contest as both sides struggled for quality in the final third, and it was Kalba who stepped up to the plate with a breakthrough in the 44th minute. The Brazilian midfielder Junior Felicio Marques unleashed a stunning left-footed strike from more than 40 yards out, which dipped and curved in flight, and Shambieh in the Al Nasr goal was unable to get a hand to it as the sides went into the dressing rooms at half time with Kalba holding a 1-0 lead.

Walter Zenga’s half-time team talk paid off almost immediately, as Al Nasr were awarded a penalty just five minutes after the restart as Japanese playmaker Takayuki Morimoto was fouled in the box. The Italian striker Giuseppe Mascara - back in the starting line-up after serving a suspension in the last round - stepped up to dispatch the penalty with aplomb, equalizing for Al Nasr and making it 1-1 in the 52nd minute. After conceding the penalty, Kalba regrouped well and didn’t allow themselves to crumble to Al Nasr’s pressure as they sought to take the lead, and the home side continued to create scoring opportunities for themselves too.

Kalba made a tactical substitution in the 67th minute, with coach Ze Mario sensing his side could sneak a winner, replacing defender Khaled Khamis Obaid with striker Abdulaziz Hassan in a positive move. Zenga made two changes of his own, bringing on striker Jamal Ibrahim in a straight swap for Younus Ahmad in the 71st minute, followed by another like-for-like change as Morimoto gave way for forward Hassan Mohamed on 75’.

And it was Kalba’s positive approach that triumphed on the day, as Mohamed Malalla scored the winner just three minutes from time. Playing an excellent one-two with Ibrahim Saeed, Malalla finished the move he started with a fine goal scored at a tight angle in the 87th minute. The home side had to endure four minutes of injury time but managed to hold strong and record a famous victory, with Kalba defeating Al Nasr by two goals to one.