Abu Dhabi: Ahmad Ali's double inspired struggling Bani Yas to their first victory of the season in the Arabian Gulf League when they stunned profligate Al Shabab 2-0 at home on Friday night.

The Sky Blues lay third bottom at the start of the day, after drawing three and losing two of their five matches in the AGL, heaping pressure on new boss Luis Garcia.

Yet Ali’s opportunism and the visitors’ failure to capitalise on their greater chances and pressure eased the burden on his shoulders as the league resumed after a two-week international break.

The first half was a thrill-a-minute affair, punctuated by end-to-end attacking and wasted chances galore by either side, and this set the tone for a thoroughly entertaining and open encounter.

Bani Yas were the most culpable in terms of prime opportunities spurned, the first of which came in the opening minute after Mohammad Bandar inexplicably lost his footing in the penalty area after latching onto Habboush Saleh’s through ball.

The lively Saleh and Spanish midfielder Joan Verdu pulled the strings for the home side in the early stages, the hosts passing quickly and incisively in the vein of the latter’s native Barcelona and their favoured tiki-taka style.

Unfortunately, Saleh departed the field just after the half-hour due to injury and was replaced by Ali, who would grab the limelight later in the match.

Former Barcelona B player Verdu, meanwhile, should have scored in the opening quarter, but sliced a left-foot shot horribly wide after being teed up by former Everton striker Denis Stracqualursi.

Garcia’s men were creating chances at will, with Yousef Jaber next to try his luck with a rasping shot, which was parried away by the visitors’ goalkeeper Salem Abdulla.

Yet Al Shabab were an increasing threat on the counter-attack and striker Henrique Luvannor thought he had scored after 18 minutes, only for his header to be ruled out for a push on one of the home side’s defenders by Edgar.

Caio Junior’s side were well and truly in the ascendancy, proving why they sat third in the table before the day’s matches, and should have scored when Dawood Ali wasted a gilt-edged chance at the far post from Carlos Villanueva’s left-wing cross.

Ali then fired an effort just past the post as half-time approached before Luvannor’s delightful, curling free-kick was tipped onto the bar by Mohsin Al Hashmi in injury time.

Al Shabab started the second half in the same threatening manner as they had ended the first, with Edgar’s close-range effort flying narrowly wide from Luvannor’s assist.

Then Villanueva’s long-range free-kick, a cross-cum-shot, somehow hit the post after eluding everyone in a packed penalty area, before the home side took the lead against the run of play after 56 minutes through UAE international Ali.

He prodded in from close range when Abdulla weakly parried Stracqualursi’s header into his path.

Al Shabab responded strongly, Edgar’s acrobatic header from Manei Mohammad Ali’s cross flying just over the bar and then Villanueva missed the goal by inches with a snap-shot from just inside the box.

They were made to pay on 73 minutes, though, when Ali waltzed through a series of mistimed challenges and slotted home his and Bani Yas’ second of the game to the delight of Garcia on the touchline.

Al Shabab continued to press for an opening, but lacked the spark of earlier, while Bani Yas relied on intermittent counters.