BANIYAS 3 DIBBA 0
Baniyas – Belfodil 11', 23', Larrivey 90'+
Man of the match – Ishak Belfodil (Baniyas)
The story of the match
Luis Garcia, the Baniyas coach, said he wanted taller men up front when he first took charge of the team last season.
They started that season with three draws and a defeat before recording their first win in the league with a 2-0 result over Al Shabab.
However, they have raced to two wins from two games this season, and Garcia’s wish has been answered with two new forwards – the Algerian international Ishak Belfodil and the Argentine Joaquin Larrivey, both standing more than six feet tall.
The pair have scored all Baniyas’s league goals so far. They netted a goal apiece in the 2-0 victory over Al Shaab, and last night against Dibba at home, Belfodil was on target twice and Larrivey fired in the other for the 3-0 result.
Larrivey chested down a long ball and rounded three defenders before slipping a pass to the unmarked Belfodil, who fired it past Humaid Abdulla for thelead at the 11th minute.
Belfodil doubled the lead when he found the net from the far post from a cross off Bandar Al Ahbabi on the 23rd minute. Larrivey rounded off with a third in added time after beating the offside trap.
Man of the match
Belfodil is proving to be the man with the golden boots for Baniyas. The Algerian was efficient in taking his two chances to set the stage for victory.
What the managers said
“I mentioned earlier Belfodil is among the top three foreign forwards in the AGL this season, and he is living up to that top billing,” Garcia said. “We have good attack now. We played a good game and the three points were important to us at this early stage.”
New signing Royston Drenthe, the former Real Madrid winger who completes the club’s foreign quartet, will train today over two sessions in the morning and evening before joining the squad in the first practice on Tuesday.
Garcia said he wants the Dutchman, 28, ready for their next match against Fujairah on September 18.
“We want to get him to play as soon as possible and he will start training with that in mind,” Garcia said. “Obviously we’ll be hoping all our new signings play to our high expectations and give us their maximum effort. Sometimes players need a little time to adapt, but I hope Drenthe will achieve that in short notice.”
Theo Bucker, the Dibba coach, said: “My players are coming from the first division and it will take a little time for them to reach the new level in the top flight. We created a few chances but didn’t have the finish because we were a wee bit slow.”
The National’s verdict
Having won against the two promoted clubs, Baniyas have yet to prove that they are close to challenging the bigger teams.
Still, it has been a better start than the previous season.
Their new foreign signings – Belfodil, Larrivey and the Australian international Mark Milligan – along with their latest arrival Drenthe provide them the quality to challenge the big boys in the league.
apassela@thenational.ae
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Al Nasr spent the summer transfer window signing up players who other clubs no longer wanted, and it is a policy that is paying dividends for the Dubai club as they maintained their perfect start to the Arabian Gulf League season.
Luis Jimenez (formerly of Al Ahli), Jonathan Pitroipa (Al Jazira) and Jires Kembo-Ekoko (Al Ain) all joined Nasr for the 2015/16 campaign, and they were in fine form last night as they beat Al Dhafra 3-1 away.
Jimenez, the former Inter Milan playmaker, scored twice to add to his double in the opening-week 2-1 win over Emirates club. Nasr’s opener came from a Khaleel Abdullah own goal after he turned Kembo-Ekoko’s shot into his own net on 19 minutes.
Kembo-Ekoko fouled Abdulraheem Juma to give away a penalty kick that Makhete Diop converted in the 24th minute, but five minutes later he helped make it 2-1 by setting up Jimenez for his second goal with a lofted cross.
Dhafra had the ball in the back of the net twice before the half-time break but neither effort stood, with the first ruled out for a foul on Nasr goalkeeper Ahmad Shambieh and the second for offside.
Jimenez made the points safe for Al Nasr on 64 minutes as he fired home after being set up by Pitroipa.
In yesterday’s late game, Fujairah gave a better account of themselves than in the league opener as they defeated promoted Al Shaab 3-0 at Fujairah Stadium.
A Fahad Sabil own goal, a Madjid Bougherra strike and Patrick Eze’s header sealed three points.
Fujairah started their season with an 8-1 loss away to Al Ahli on August 19.
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