AG Cup round-up: Shabab destroy rivals Al Wasl, Dhafra overpower Fujairah

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  • Close control: Al Shabab were outstanding against Al Wasl.

    Al Shabab got off to a flying start in their Arabian Gulf Cup campaign by hammering Al Wasl 3-0 in a Dubai derby at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium. The Cheetahs started off brightly and came close to scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes. However, it was the hosts that got their noses in front from a tap-in by Essa Mohammed in the 44th minute.

    Brazilian striker Edgar Bruno was introduced in the 59th minute and he made an immediate impact by assisting Rashid Hassan with an inviting cross for him to make it 2-0. It was Bruno that put the game to bed when he reacted quickest to a parry from Carlos Villanueva to seal a 3-0 victory.

    Al Dhafra beat 10-man Fujairah 3-1 after going a goal down at the Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium. Goals from Khalefa Ibraheem, Makhete Diop and Hamad Yaqoob cancelled out Boubacar Sanogo’s opener to give Al Dhafra maximum points in Group B of the Arabian Gulf Cup

    Fujairah suffered with two major blows in the game after taking a 1-0 lead through a Sanogo strike. Mohamed Khalfan got injured and had to be substituted in the 28th minute, then their goalscorer Sanogo was shown a straight red card in the 45th minute to leave the visitors a man down.

    Al Dhafra took advantage of their extra man and scored an equaliser in the 51st minute from a toe-poke finish from Khalefa Ibraheem. The Western Knights took the lead ten minutes later when Makhete Diop got to the end of a cross and hooked the ball in. In added time, Hamad Yaqoob instinctively reacted to a rebound from a saved free-kick to secure a 3-1 win.

    Sharjah defeated Bani Yas 1-0 in a tight Group B encounter. It took 74 minutes for the deadlock to be broken when Wanderley Santos gave Sharjah a 1-0 lead. He had come close with a header in the first half but this time he made it count. Sharjah held onto their home lead for the remaining quarter of an hour to get off to a winning start in the competition.

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