Arabian Gulf League: Al Wasl draw Emirates, waste chance to bolster Asian Champions League bid

Al Wasl midfielder Ronaldo Mendes tries to evade Emirates defenders during their Arabian Gulf League match on Friday, March 10, 2017. Courtesy AGL

Al Wasl 1-1 Emirates

Wasl: Mohammed 77’

Emirates: Sacha 82’

Man of the Match: Hadef Saif (Emirates)

DUBAI // Presented with a golden opportunity to put a little daylight between themselves and Al Ain in the race for next season’s Asian Champions League, Al Wasl rather fluffed their lines on Friday.

The Dubai club sat comfortably in fourth in the Arabian Gulf League going into the game, nine points ahead of fifth with only five rounds remaining, but they could only battle to a draw against relegation-threatened Emirates at an expectant Zabeel Stadium, wasting the chance to enhance considerably their bid for a top-three finish.

As it was, Wasl led late and then threw it away, although they did move into third, now one point ahead of Al Ain and ten ahead of fifth-placed Al Wahda. Little wonder, though, that manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena cut a frustrated figure post-match. Thankfully for him, he has a substantial break in league action to work on his team’s failings.

“It’s good to not play for one month, recover some players who have been injured and get the others back to their level, because maybe they are a little bit down,” he said. “But I’m satisfied with the effort my team give, wanting to win the match. It was important to win the three points, but we can now start thinking about the things I’ve mentioned, so we’re good when the season restarts.”

As Arruabarrena conceded, Wasl were never quite at their best, never quite sharp enough to reflect truly the nine places that separated the two sides in the table. To be fair, the hosts should have been one up after only two minutes, but the referee appeared to incorrectly disallow Ahmed Ibrahim’s own goal.

Yet Wasl did not use the sense of injustice to their advantage. They were significantly below par, although they had appeared to have snatched the points when substitute Hassan Mohammed stabbed home Fabio De Lima’s back-post header in the 77th minute. Mohammed had just entered the fray.

But Emirates pegged them back almost immediately. Within five minutes, Sebastian Sacha had stolen behind the Wasl defence and, as home goalkeeper Humaid Abdullah strayed too far off his line, the Argentine looped his header into the empty net.

Emirates secured a vital point to leave them four points behind 12th-placed Kalba, to ensure safety remains within touching distance.

“For us, the point is very important,” said Emirates manager Ivan Hasek. “Now we have more than three weeks until our next game and we have to keep the same spirit. Everybody fights not to go to the second division. Everyone fights to stay here.”

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