DUBAI // Al Wasl claimed a vital 1-0 home win over Al Wahda to see them climb up to fourth place in Arabian Gulf League on Thursday night.
After a quiet opening it was the home team that looked more dangerous and they almost took the lead on 18 minutes when a header by Caio Canedo was saved by Adel Hosani only for Fabio Lima to sky the rebound over from underneath the bar.
Five minutes later Lima was booked for a late tackle on Al Wasl’s Ahmed Al Shamisi, who had to be replaced by Abdullah Kazim after being taken off injured.
For the visitors, Ismail Matar had a free kick pushed on to the bar by Rashid Ali, the closest Wahda came to breaking the deadlock in the opening half.
Caio’s shot from a very tight angle on 33 minutes almost squirmed through Al Hosani’s legs but the goalkeeper recovered in time to save his embarrassment. Al Wahda came back and a diving header by the excellent Suhail Al Mansoori flew wide of the post. The half ended with Caio forcing another save from Al Hosani after another solo run.
The previously anonymous Edgar Bruno headed wide for Wasl soon after the restart before Al Mansoori’s fierce left foot shot was saved by Ali at full stretch. Al Wahda had the momentum and Sebastian Tagliabue headed against the foot of the post from Matar’s free kick.
Al Mansoori, Wahda’s best player, was replaced by Jorge Valdivia just after the hour and the Chilean saw a looping header tipped over the bar by Ali.
The breakthrough for Al Wasl finally came with 10 minutes left when Lima prodded the ball over the line from close range.
It proved enough to give the home team a valuable victory as the match ended acrimoniously with Wahda substitute Mohammed Al Shehhi booked for a wild tackle in injury time and coach Javier Aguirre sent to the stands.
Man of the match
Was run close by his colleague Caio, but despite missing an easy chance early on, Fabio Lima proved the difference between the two teams. His constant movement and perseverance kept the Al Wahda defence busy all night, before his late goal settled the match.
What they said
Al Wasl coach Gabriel Calderon: “We played better in the second half than the first ... Al Wahda are very strong, they don’t give away chances. Maybe in the second half they were a little tired which gave us a chance to play better.
“I don’t like to look at the position because the league is very strong and very long, but I’m happy that in the last five or six matches we a started showing stability.”
Juan Iribarren, Al Wahda assistant coach: “The players played very well, both in defence and attack, but unfortunately we lost; that’s football after all.
“I congratulate the players, the only thing that was missing was converting our chances into goals. We return to Abu Dhabi to start concentrating on the next match. If we continue to play the way we are better results will surely come.”
The National’s verdict
For long periods Al Wahda were the more dangerous team, and only two excellent stops by Ali from Al Mansoori and Tagliabue denied them a first-half lead.
The reaction of the Al Wasl players and fans at the final whistle showed just important this win was. They now sit in fourth place and the form of Caio and Lima will give them cause for optimism over the coming weeks.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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