Al Dhafrah force Al Ahli to settle for draw

Abu Dhabi: Al Dhafrah forced Al Ahli to settle for a 1–1 draw in the UAE Football League (UFL) yesterday and denied them a chance to continue sharing the leadership with Al Jazira.

The tie increased Al Dhafrah's tally to 10 points. Al Ahli are in second place with 23 points, two points behind Al Jazira.

Al Ahli played one of their worst matches and failed to beat Al Dhafrah, who played more than 25 minutes with 10 players after the referee sent off Adil Abdullah for collecting two yellow cards within 12 minutes.

Al Ahli should be thankful for the match official, who awarded them a controversial penalty to level the score.

Al Dhafrah began the match pressing for an early goal and they surprised their guests when they took the lead after only two minutes when Kenneth, the Nigerian defender, sent a long high ball behind the visiting defenders and Mohammad Salem, the home captain, headed home with a curling ball.

Abdullah Al Ajel, the referee, was unfair to the home team when he awarded Al Ahli a penalty kick for a foul against Esmail Al Hammadi, which in fact occurred outside the penalty box. Cezar equalised from the spot for the visitors in the 22nd minute.

Both teams limited the action in midfield and except for the explosive charges of Al Hammadi and the brilliance of Salem, nothing happened in the remaining time of the first half of play.

Al Ahli were the better side after the interval as the home team retreated to defend the draw.