Ribeiro inspires Al Ahli to victory with top AGL spot in sight

Matt Jones - Editor 07:33 26/10/2015
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  • Everton Ribeiro’s (l) sumptuous second goal capped off a fine performance.

    It was back to domestic business in fine style on Sunday night for Al Ahli as Cosmin Olaroiu’s men took apart mooted title challengers Al Wahda with a 3-1 win in the capital.

    The Red Knights have been unrecognisable in the early weeks of the 2015-16 campaign from the side that were so shambolic in defence of their Arabian Gulf League title last season.

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    That is largely down to their new-look attack, who were again key to this victory with a brace for Everton Ribeiro and one for Rodrigo Lima.

    Brazilian Lima has been making many of the headlines since a summer move from Benfica, but it was compatriot Ribeiro who stole the show in Abu Dhabi.

    The playmaker was at the heart of this impressive performance, having a hand in all three goals as the visitors maintained their perfect start to the campaign.

    The Red Knights have the first leg of a historic Champions League final against Chinese superpower Guangzhou Evergrande in 12 days following their dramatic 4-3 semi-final triumph against Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal six days ago.

    Olaroiu might have dreaded a dip in performance after that energy-sapping effort but his side were dominant throughout a match orchestrated majestically by Ribeiro.

    There were flashes of quality in the opening 45 minutes, but the game lacked any spark, instead punctuated by a flurry of yellow cards.

    Uneventful until the 28th minute, Ribeiro injected some life in somewhat fortuitous circumstances when his cross evaded everyone, including Wahda goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani, and nestled in the corner.

    Javier Aguirre’s side barely registered a chance in the first half and the Mexican must have had strong words at the break as his team were instantly improved after the interval, first Ismail Matar’s low free-kick whistled just wide and from the resulting corner former Arsenal midfielder Denilson was unlucky to see his side footed effort come back off the post.

    Two more Brazilians combined to double Ahli’s advantage on the hour.

    Hussain Fadel dithered in possession and had his pocket picked by Ribeiro, who rolled the ball into Lima’s path and the 32-year-old calmly converted his 13th goal in 11 games.

    The hosts were looking far from the polished team that beat Al Ain 2-1 on the same pitch a month ago, although they were certainly not helped by a lack of atmosphere.

    In their last home league game against the Boss, 7,000 vociferous fans had made for an intensely vibrant atmosphere that carried Wahda to victory. According to the stadium announcer there were 6,970 in attendance last night, though you could have heard a pin drop inside Al Nahyan.

    It got even quieter with 18 minutes left as Ribeiro, fittingly, put the final nail in Wahda’s coffin.

    He predictably started the move, feeding Senegal international Moussa Sow who sprayed a superb diagonal ball into the path of the lively Ismail Al Hammadi.

    He found Lima who floated a ball over to his countryman at the back post, Ribeiro sumptuously side footing in first time on his weaker right foot.

    Jorge Valdivia’s superb curler into Majed Nasser’s top left corner finally gave the home fans something to cheer, while Hamdan Al Kamali also struck a post with a driven free-kick late on, but the visitors were worthy winners.

    They move up to third, three points off leaders Al Ain but with two games in hand.

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