Dubai: Argentinian Fabio De Lima scored four as Al Wasl reignited their thirst to the best with a clinical 8-0 thrashing of Dibba to take top spot in eleventh round action of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Thursday.
Derailed of their ambitions following a narrow 2-1 away loss to Al Ain last week, Al Wasl bounced back in style scoring three goals in the first half and then adding another five to mow down their opponents. The win took the side from Al Zabeel to 25 points, two clear of previous leaders Al Jazira who, however, have the opportunity of reclaiming their position when they take on Hatta, on Friday.
In the day’s second match, Al Shabab failed to recover from their 7-3 drubbing last week at the hands of Al Jazira as they went down to Al Dhafra 3-0.
Nothing seemed to go right for the visiting Dibba team at Al Wasl as Abdullah Nasser fouled Caio Canedo off the very first move when the match was just 21 seconds old. The striker then coolly converted to give the home side the lead. Ronaldo Mendes made it 2-0 in the 13th minute when he pounced on a clumsy spilled save by Fahad Mohammad. Ten minutes later De Lima got his name on the scoresheet with an easy tap-in after the Dibba goalkeeper had failed to hold on to a cross from the left.
Coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena brought in some new faces and the home side took their time to settle in the second half. But once they did, the Dibba defenders found it increasingly difficult to restrain them. Khalil Khamis made it 4-0 after accepting a clever back-heel from Mendes on the hour mark.
Three minutes later, De Lima got his second when he prodded home a cross from the right flank. The talented Argentinian then completed his hat-trick in the 71st minute when he coolly drilled home a swift counter-attack.
The hard-working Mendes completed his brace in the 82nd minute when he hammered home from close range and De Lima then rounded off the scoring with a rasping drive into the top corner of the net.
Looking to overcome the heartache of last week’s humbling from Al Jazira, Al Shabab continued to suffer as they went down to two goals within three minutes to lose points on the road once again.
Omar Kharban had the easiest of finishes in the 13th minute following a defensive error, and then a Makhete Dioup screamer from nearly 30 metres caught Salem Abdullah off his guard and handed Al Dhafra a comfortable 2-0 lead at half-time. Dioup came calling a second time in the 77th minute as the home side took full points and along with it the enjoyment of climbing into seventh position with 16 points.
RESULTS
Al Wasl v Dibba 8-0
Al Dhafra v Al Shabab 3-0
FIXTURES
Friday, December 9
Sharjah v Al-Ahli 4.45pm
Al-Jazira v Hatta 4.50pm
Al-Wahda v Al Ain 8pm
