Joaquin Larrivey’s hat-trick helped Baniyas maintain their unbeaten run this season as they fought to a 3-3 draw against Fujairah on Friday night.
The Argentine opened the scoring in the 12th minute, only to see the home team’s French striker Christophe Mandanne equalise two minutes later.
But Larrivey added a second to give his side the upper hand.
However Hasan Matouk and Khalil Khameis were on target within a minute of each other to ensure Fujairah went in for the half-time break with a 3-2 advantage.
In the second half, Fujairah decided to sit back and defend their lead as Baniyas started probing for a third goal.
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Coach Luis Garcia introduced new signing Royston Drenthe a minute before the hour, but the visitors received a jolt when Bandar Al Ahbabi was send off for a second yellow card.
Baniyas struggled to match their opponents for ball possession but they managed a third goal through Larrivey in the 88th minute to keep their unbeaten run intact.
Baniyas had started off with a 2-0 win at Al Shaab and followed it up with a 3-0 triumph against Dibba in their two earlier matches of the AGL.
Wilmar Jordan and Mohammed Malallah both scored in an eight-minute spell to ensure Emirates picked up their first points of the season with a hard-fought 2-1 away win against 10-man Al Shaab.
The 25-year-old Colombian, who signed for Emirates earlier this summer, scored on the hour mark, while Malallah put the ball in the net in the 68th minute to help their team to a comfortable lead.
But, Al Shaab did not give up the fight and found a consolation goal through Amro Elsoulia in the 82nd minute.
The two teams were evenly matched early on, with Tarek Ashry’s home side going all out for a goal. However, the scales were tilted in favour of the visitors after Fahad Sebil was dismissed in the 21st minute.
In the second half the burden of playing short-handed cost the home team as Wilmar Jordan and Mohammed Malallah scored to guarantee full points.
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