Jimenez hat-trick helps Al Ahli sink Bani Yas

Dubai Chilean playmaker Luis Jimenez struck a fine first half hat-trick and Senegal’s Andre Senghor matched his efforts with three goals in the second half, but it was Al Ahli who narrowly escaped with a 6-4 win in penultimate round action of the Etisalat Pro League here late on Friday.

Jimenez got his goals in the later part of the first half to ensure his side sitting on a comfortable 4-0 lead at half-time. The home side added a fifth midway through the second half, only to see the never-say-die Bani Yas fight back with a hat-trick from Senghor and one from substitute Saleh Hamad to ultimately finish on the losing side.

Al Ahli – who have finished in eighth place in the last two editions – now have a chance of moving up the standings as they head into the final round of the league with 31 points, a mere two points behind Al Wahda who were winners against Al Jazira in the Abu Dhabi derby.

The home team started on a confident note constantly probing the Bani Yas defence time and again and it was Ahmad Khalil who shot wide in the very sixth minute after being laid on a platter by Jimenez.

But the young striker made amends six minutes later when he accepted a dainty chip from Esmail Hammadi and drove in for the first goal of the match.

With a disciplined defence in place, Quique Sanchez-Flores’s men did not have to wait for long to double their lead as Jimenez took control with his three goals starting in the 23rd minute. The Chilean first accepted a timely interception from Achille Edzimbi Emana that caught the entire Bani Yas defence off guard as Jimenez advanced unchallenged to blast in a low shot to the far corner to make it 2-0.

Jimenez scored his second of the night in the 32nd when he latched on to an Emana header and swept in past goalkeeper Khalaf.

And the stylish South American completed his hat-trick when he nodded in a Bashir Saeed free kick that rebounded off the framework in the 38th minute.

Content with their lead, the home side further improved on their scoring skills when Lebanese skipper Yousuf Mohammad put the finishing touches to a corner kick with a stylish volley right into the roof of the net in the 64th minute.

Three minutes later, Bani Yas was finally rewarded for their hard work when Andre Senghor nodded in a cross from Amer Al Hammadi for his first and then on the 76th minute added a second to keep the game alive.

The Senegal striker then scored from the spot after being brought down by Bashir Saeed in the 78th minute to round off his hat-trick and then watched substitute Saleh Hamad drive in a fourth to send Flores panicking on the touch line.

However, Emana calmed frayed nerves in the 87th minute when his diving header crashed into the far corner of the net.

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