Abu Dhabi: The Boss ‘Al Ain’ were on a roll last week and their ruthless 7-1 victory over an ordinary Ajman in the round of 16 of the Arabian league has put them clearly in the driver’s seat with 36 points, with a match in hand.
The result keeps the pressure on Al Jazira — who riding on the double by Ali Mabkhout against Emirates — are sitting on the same number of points as Al Ain, but have played one match more than the latter. Along with most of their star imports, new signing Saeed Al Katheeri also netted in a goal and that would have been a major boost for Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalicć. The thrashing left Ajman second from the bottom of the table with just 10 points.
Al Wahda, who saw their Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro sacked following their late draw against Emirates, got their act together to post a 3-1 win against Bani Yas as they brace to welcome their new coach Sami Al Jaber for the next round. With that win, Al Wahda now continue to occupy the third spot — four points adrift from the leaders and their management will be hoping that Al Jaber would put their campaign further back on track.
Al Shabab’s surge was also hit with a 10-man Al Nasr forcing them to split points with 1-1 draw. The result moves Al Nasr to 26 points, while Al Shabab now have 30 points and are on fifth spot.
In their battle against relegation, Sharjah scored a last-gasp 2-1 win away at Kalba to securing three points. This was Kalba’s 14th defeat of the season and they remain at the bottom of the table with just four points, while Sharjah move onto 15 points — five clear of Ajman.
After a lacklustre performance, Al Dhafra and Fujairah settled for a goalless draw and ended up splitting points. Al Dhafra with 17 points, while Fujairah stay just one behind on 16.
Defending champions Al Ahli continued to slip after Al Wasl handed them a 4-0 drubbing ridding on a brace of goals by Fabio de Lima. Al Wasl, thus, taking revenge for their 5-1 loss against Al Ahli earlier in the season. Al Wasl moved to 22 points, while Al Ahli remain stuck on 23 and are placed seventh.
