Bani Yas have hit top spot in the Arabian Gulf League-table after goals from Ishak Belfodil, Joaquin Larrivey and Fawaz Awana saw off 10-man Emirates Club on Friday night.
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Luis Garcia’s men were far too good for their mid-table opponents, taking a temporary one-point lead into the remaining fixtures of this round. It was Algeria forward Belfodil who got them off to a flyer, recovering from an earlier miss to fire in a perfect first-time finish in the 19th minute. Both sides then struck the woodwork in a thrilling end to the half, Royston Drenthe going close for the visitors before Eissa Abdulla narrowly missed out.
The Sky Blues raced out of sight after the break. A cushioned header from Argentine striker Larrivey in the 52nd minute saw him join compatriot Sebastian Tagliabue of Al Wahda at the top of the scoring charts with six.
نهاية المباراة السماوي ينتصر بثلاثية نظيفة على الإمارات هنا في رأس الخيمة Full Time Result: Emirates 0 Baniyas 3 #EMRvBNY
— نادي بني ياس الرياضي (@BaniyasClub) October 16, 2015
A hectic end featured defender Alhasan Saleh picking up his second yellow card, midfielder Fawaz Awana then making it 3-0.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli came back from a goal down on Thursday to secure a 3-1 triumph against struggling Sharjah.
The AFC Champions League semi-finalists were stunned when midfielder Maicosuel tucked away from close range on 34 minutes. The Red Knights then responded with a second-half show of force.
UAE midfielder Habib Fardan headed home the leveller, €17 million (Dh70.9m) buy Moussa Sow broke his duck with a fine individual effort before summer purchase Lima kept up his record of scoring in every game with a header against opponents who had seen defender Hamdan Qassim dismissed.
