Al Wasl3Dubai club0Sharjah4Al Jazira1Al Shaab3Al Nasr2Al Shabab1Al Ittihad1Al Wasl sailed away from troubled waters after defeating Dubai Club 3-0 in the First Division football league, at the Al Wasl stadium yesterday.
Al Wasl, threatened by relegation in the last few weeks, moved to seventh place with 15 points, while Dubai Club dropped to 10th place with 13 points.
The match was attended by Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Club, and other officials from Al Wasl and Dubai Club.
The first 45 minutes showed both the teams in poor form and the play was confined to midfield without any dangerous attacks towards both goals.
Farhad lost a good chance for Wasl when he couldn't keep the ball under his feet while facing the goalkeeper, who effected a diving save.
Nigerian striker Emannuel Abedi, who signed with Al Wasl only 48 hours before the match, opened the scores in the 27th minute following a quick move by Khalid Darwish and Farhad.
The latter crossed to Emannuel whose shot beat Obaid Moham-med under the Dubai bar. Two minutes later Farhad was brought down by the Dubai custodian inside the box after weaving past him and the referee pointed to the spot.
However, Obaid made amends by saving Farhad's shot after diving to his right and denying Farhad from scoring the second. Khalid Darwish and Farhad lost two scoring chances in the final minutes before the break.
Dubai club's Juma Mussa squandered a good chance to level a minute on resumption. Faced with just the Wasl goalkeeper, he sent a weak shot, which was saved by the keeper to the corner.
Dubai club pressed hard for the equaliser, but lacked sharpness and good finish by Juma Mussa and the newly-signed Melodoy Karazi of Congo.
Farhad hit the second for Wasl in the 75th minute by capitalising on an error from the Dubai defenders, who failed to clear the ball. Farhad himself sealed victory for Wasl by scoring the third goal, 10 minutes before the end, after going past a hapless Dubai goalkeeper.
In the second match, Sharjah defeated Al Jazira 4-1. Saeed Al Kass scored a hat-trick for Sharjah and Osman Assas hit the fourth, while James Debba scored Jazira's consolation goal.
In the third match, Al Shaab beat Al Nasr 3-2. Yousuf Hasan netted a brace for Shaab while Jasim Doukhy completed the tally. Semba and Kanzari scored for Al Nasr.
In the fourth match, Al Shabab drew 1-1 with Al Ittihad. Brazilian Geraldo scored for Shabab while Cedric levelled for Ittihad.
Gulf News 2003
