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Ajman reach Etisalat Cup final with scintillating 2-1 win at Al Shabab

Goals from Driss Fettouhi and Waleed Ahmed earned Ajman a stunning win over Al Shabab at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, with goalkeeper Jaber Jasim proving to be the hero with a spectacular late penalty save from Brazilian striker Ciel. The win sees Ajman progress to the final of the Etisalat Cup against all expectations, with their opponents to be decided in the 8:30pm kick off at the Al Nahyan Stadium tonight.

It was the underdogs Ajman who settled into the rhythm of the game first, after a scrappy opening period. Moroccan midfielder Driss Fettouhi was pulling the strings in midfield and sent a free kick just over the crossbar in the 22nd minute, but he would soon make his efforts count as one minute later he gave his side a 1-0 lead. Latching onto a header knocked on by Boris Kabi, Fettouhi got in between Al Shabab’s centre-back pairing and arrowed a left-footed shot into the net to put Ajman 1-0 up in the 24th minute, to the surprise of the home crowd. And six minutes later the away team doubled their lead, with Fettouhi once again the instigator. Al Shabab’s back line were struggling to deal with the Moroccan’s trickery and Ibrahim Abdulla tripped him in the area to concede a penalty. Waleed Ahmed stepped up to convert the spot kick in the 30th minute, emphatically dispatching the ball right-footed into the top right-hand corner of goal to put Ajman 2-0 up away from home. The unfortunate Ibrahim Abdulla had to be substituted five minutes later with an injury, with Marcos Paqueta bringing on Manei Mohamed in his place for Al Shabab. The team in green rallied for the latter stages of the first half, winning several free kicks in dangerous positions, but were unable to find a way back into the game. Al Shabab’s best chance came in the 40th minute from a free kick in a central position, just on the edge of the area. Luis Alves struck his shot on target but Ajman’s stand-in goalkeeper Jaber Jasim made a smart save to deny the Brazilian and keep his side 2-0 ahead at the half-time break.

Al Shabab came out of the dressing rooms fired up after the interval and ten minutes after the restart they got themselves back in the game. As is often the case, it was the Brazilian trio who combined to score, with Edgar Bruno’s header finding Ciel, who clattered his shot against the underside of the crossbar, only to be headed in from close range on the rebound by Luiz Alves to make it 2-1 in the 56th minute. The momentum was now firmly with the home side, and two minutes later it looked like they were certain to equalise as Luiz Alves handed a golden chance on a platter to Essa Obaid, but the midfielder somehow contrived to miss an open goal and squander the opportunity to get back on level terms. Al Shabab continued to rally in search of an equaliser, with left-back Walid Abbas putting in a lot of attacking effort on the overlap, and in the 68th minute the UAE national team player saw his off-balance shot skew just wide of the upright as he tripped over his own feet when shaping up to shoot. Substitutions by each side disrupted the flow of play but every ball was hotly contested as both sets of players displayed great desire to win, with exuberance getting the better of Al Shabab’s Hassan Ibrahim, who was given his marching orders for his second bookable offence in the 80th minute. Two minutes later Ajman missed a gilt-edged chance to secure the victory as Ali Khamis’ pinpoint cross found Boris Kabi, but the captain put his header agonizingly over the crossbar. In the 86th minute Al Shabab almost put through their own net when failing to deal with an Ajman cross, but Salem Abdulla got down to make the save from his own defender. In an explosive end to the match, one minute later Al Shabab stormed up the other end of the pitch and thought they had sealed an equaliser when Ciel struck a low left-footed shot towards an open goal, but fans and players alike were left dumbfounded when the Brazilian’s effort missed the target, creeping just wide of the far post. Ajman clung on desperately for the five minutes of added time against the ten men of Al Shabab, and in stoppage time they were awarded a penalty when Ali Khamis clumsily clattered into Luiz Alves in the area. Ciel stepped up to take the spot kick but Jaber Jasim was the hero for Ajman as he saved superbly to book his side’s place in the final of the Etisalat Cup.