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Al Nasr take second position; bottom trio lose and postpone relegation

Dubai-based Al Nasr jumped to second position with 37 points after maintaining a big 5-1 win over Al Jazira in the Etisalat Pro League 20th round match for this season played tonight at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi while the losers remain in 4th place with 35 points. Habeeb Al Fardan opened the score for Al Nasr only 12 minutes into play and Ali Mabkhoot netted the equalizer in the 36th minute. Australian Breciano made it 2-1 one minute before the break and Younis Ahmed scored the third goal two minutes into injury time. The winners added two more goals in the second session through Amara Diane and Leonardo Lima in the 6th and 85thminutes to end the game with a 5-1 victory for Al Nasr.

On the other hand the bottom trio Sharjah, Dubai and Emirates remain in their previous positions after losing to Al Ahli, Bani Yas and Al Ain respectively. Al Ain beat hosts Emirates 4-1 to raise their tally to 49 points while the losers have only 14 points that kept them in the 10th spot. The Ghanaian Asamoah Gyan scored an early goal in the 7th minute and then the game was stopped for almost 20 minutes due to an electric current outage before it resumed again. Al Ain’s Romanian midfielder Radoi was shown the red card in the 30thminute for his side to continue the match with 10 players. Gyan netted the second goal for Al Ain two minutes before the breather and the Uzbek striker Al Exander reduced the deficit four minutes into injury time off a stand ball. Omer Abdulrahman scored the third goal for Al Ain with a left-footer to end the first half with a 3-1 lead and Argentinian striker Scocco concluded the rout when he netted the fourth goal in the 54th minute.

Bani Yas overcame Dubai with two straight goals via Senegalese Sengahoor in the 65th and 94thminutes to raise their balance to 23 points taking 9th position while Dubai are still second from the bottom with 14 points. The winners squandered a penalty in this game.

Al Ahli also came out with three invaluable points following their 2-1 win over Sharjah. The winners are staying in 6th place with 28 points whereas Sharjah are at the bottom of the ladder with only 10 points.

In the other matches of the day, Ajman held Al Shabab to a 4-4 draw and Al Wahda beat Al Wasl 2-0 at Al Maktoum Stadium in Al Nasr Club. Brazilian Hugo and Saeed Al Katheri scored for Al Wahda in the 40th and 90thminutes respectively for the winners to step forward to take 5th place with 30 points. Al Shabab raised their tally to 37 taking third spot with Ajman moving downwards taking 7thposition with 28 points while Al Wasl remain in 8th position with 26 points.