Dubai: The top two finishers of Arabian Gulf League last year opened with contrasting results as the UAE football season got under way with first round matches of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Friday.

AGL champions Al Jazira were held to a 1-1 draw away against Al Dhafra, while last year’s league runners-up Al Wasl left it late for a deserving 3-2 home win against Dibba to go on top of Group B.

After Hassan Mohammad had given the home side an early lead, it was Dibba’s Brazilian striker Jociel Ferreira da Silva [Ciel] scoring a quick second-half brace for an unlikely three points for the visitors. Al Wasl came back to life in the latter part of the second half and got goals from Caio Canedo (53rd minute) and Lima (87th) for a deserving win.

Al Wasl made its intentions clear very early in the match as Mohammad gave the home side a second minute lead. Dibba re-grouped well with Ciel equalising from the penalty spot within three minutes of the restart and the Brazilian got his second five minutes later as the visitors sensed an unlikely win against a more fancied side.

The 12 teams will now switch their attention to the start of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) that is scheduled to get under way with the opening round on September 15-16.

Played under humid conditions, the match in Dubai did not rise to great heights. But it was in the very second minute that Hassan Mohammad gave the home fans something to cheer when Fabio Lima’s cross from the right was trapped and rolled into an empty goal.

As the game wore on, players found it tough to keep up a steady pace. And when Dibba came calling two minutes after the half-hour mark, Al Wasl goalkeeper Yousuf Al Za’abi was alert in intercepting a sharp Alassane Ndiaye deflection to keep the home team in the match.

The visitors finally managed to get a much-deserved equaliser three minutes into the second half after Jociel Ferreira da Silva [Ciel] was brought down inside the area by Al Wasl skipper Waheed Esmail and the Brazilian converted the resultant penalty to make it 1-1. In the 53rd minute, Ciel got his second when his diving header off a pinpoint cross from captain Driss Fettouhi gave Al Za’abi no chance at all.

Canedo was pushed inside the area and the home team striker scored from the resultant penalty in the 70th minute, after which De Lima managed his second of the night while rising high to nod in an inch-perfect free kick from new recruit Anthony Caceres.

In the other early match of the day, Romario da Silva scored three minutes into the second half to help Al Jazira take the lead only to see Al Dhafra claw back to split points after Mohannad Karrar scored an equaliser for the home side in the 82nd minute.

RESULTS

Al Dhafra 1 Al Jazira 1

Al Wasl 3 Dibba 2