AL AIN // Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain maintained their three-point lead at top of the table with a resounding 3-0 victory over Al Wasl at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday.
Mohammed Abdulrahman opened the scoring and the Brazilian Douglas was on target on his debut for the Garden City club before half time. Felipe Bastos rounded off the game with an injury time goal.
Al Ain had the game firmly under their control after the second goal. They could not add to their tally until injury time but they never looked out of control.
Read more: New Al Ain signing Douglas sets out targets: 'Win one more title and win all the games'
Abdulrahman knocked in the first goal after Douglas redirected a low cross from Danillo Asprilla towards the unmarked midfielder at the far post.
The scorer then turned provider when Abdulrahman split the Wasl defence with a deft pass to send Douglas through.
The Brazilian score from inside the area after a clearance from Abdulla Al Juneibi on a long ball from goalkeeper Khalid Eissa had fell on Abdulrahman’s path.
When it looked like the first half score would stand good for the victors, Bastos worked his way through the halfway line to add the third with a low shot to the far corner of the net from the edge of the box.
Wasl struggled to break a solid Al Ain defence, marshalled by the experienced Ismail Ahmed and Mohanad Salem.
They ended up with 10 players eight minutes from time when Al Juneibi was shown a red card for pushing substitute Saeed Al Kathiri when he was about to run through.
Man of the match
Mohammed Abdulrahman, Al Ain – Scored and set the pace and platform for Al Ain in the first half of the match.
What they said
Zlatko Dalic, Al Ain coach: “We played against a very organised team and it was a tough game. We scored three goals and we got a clean sheet, this is enough for me.
“We controlled the game but didn’t pass enough. I should be happy though. One big point was that so many of our fans came to the stadium today.
“We will be better next time for sure, as Danilo Asprilla and Douglas will be fitter for the next game.”
Gabriel Calderon, Al Wasl coach: “I am not looking at the margin of defeat. Losing 3-0 or by a smaller margin doesn’t make any difference.
“This is the difference when you play against a team of 11 internationals. They can score three goals. My team played very well, but they couldn’t get enough opportunities to score. The big teams only need one opportunity to score.”
The National’s verdict
With no signs of either Al Ain or Al Ahli slipping up, the race for the league title continues to be a two-horse race.
Barring any upsets, their meeting on April 14 would decide the fate the league.
apassela@thenational.ae
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