Al Ain & Al Wahda share spoils of thrilling ‘Al Clasico’

13:07 04/12/2013
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Al Ain had to settle for a draw with Al Wahda at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Friday night after the two sides contested a thrilling Abu Dhabi derby.

    Brazilian winger Michel Bastos gave the league champions the lead at the start of the second half before Al Wahda found an equaliser from a deflected Marco Estrada free-kick.

    The derby, affectionately known as ‘Al Clasico’, began at a frantic pace and it rarely slowed down over the course of the 90 minutes.

    The home side had much of the running in the early stages, with the pick of the chances falling to Damian Diaz, whose curling shot looked destined for the top corner before Dawoud Sulaiman pulled off a stunning save.

    Al Ain’s first-half opportunities were limited to half-chances, but after the restart it was The Boss who took the lead with a Bastos beauty.

    The former Lyon star connected Mohammed Al Shehi’s headed clearance sweetly on the volley to fire a bullet of a shot past Adel Al Hosani.

    Al Ain held onto their lead for 20 minutes until Estrada lined up a free-kick after Salem Saleh won a free-kick wide on the right. The Chilean’s set-piece took a nick off Omar Abdulrahman in the Al Ain wall before taking another deflection off Mohanad Salem and nestling into the bottom corner.

    With the scores level, it was Al Ain who poured forward in search of a winner but a number of chances failed to hit the target.

    Mohanad Salem was almost handed the opportunity to atone for his unfortunate own goal as he went painfully close to turning the ball in at the right end four minutes from time, and in a pulsating final few moments Diaky shot over the crossbar as the chance for either side to snatch a winner ebbed away.

    * For breaking news, follow us on @Sport_360 or find us on Facebook.

    Recommended