Sangahor snatches victory for Al Ain

A 73rd minute strike from Andre Sangahor gives the visitors a 1-0 win over Al Wahda at the Al Nahyan Stadium.

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ABU DHABI // Andre Sangahor's 73rd minute strike gave Al Ain a 1-0 victory over Al Wahda in last night's round 7 of the Etisalat Pro League at the Al Nahyan stadium. The lanky Senegalese forward, unmarked inside the area, slammed a cross from Ali al Wehaibi that went past the Wahda defenders to liven up the last quarter of the game in which Alecsandro Barbosa hit the net seven minutes from time but only to be blown offside. From the onset it looked like a tight game, with both sides closely marking their forwards and with much of the play concentrated on the midfield. Mahmoud Khamis was glued to Jorge Valdivia, which wasn't surprising. The influential Chile international was hardly able to move, and by doing so, Wahda were winning the battle. The Wahda marker was booked for one too many tackles on the Ain forward, but he had done the job for his side. Wahda began with a couple of darring moves early in the game. Abdulraheem Jumaa lunged to a dipping free kick from Ismail Matar only to see it go wide, and Tunisian Karim Aouadhi's close range header off a Pinga cross was brilliantly pushed out by Motaz Abdulla in the first six minutes, after which, it runed into a drab midfield affair. The Ain coach Winfried Schaefer, passing instructions from the stands, didn't waste any time on subsituting those who under-perform on the pitch. he replaced Saif Mohammed on the 36th minute after the left wing attack, a record Dh 10 million purchase from Al Shaab, lost control of the ball and an opportunity of an early goal. apassela@thenational.ae