Pagelsdorf relieved as Al Nasr win

Dubai: The pressure on Al Nasr coach Frank Pagelsdorf may have eased with his men thrashing Al Wasl 3-1 in Friday's Dubai derby, but the German maintained that his job was never on the line.

Eman Mobali returned to haunt his former club Al Wasl with two strikes that sank the men in yellow and handed Pagelsdorf a temporary lifeline.

The Iran star justified his billing as one of the top free-kick exponents in the UAE Football League by beating goalkeeper Salah Hussain with superbly struck free-kicks on both occasions.

Ecuadorian hitman Carlos Tenorio, who struck the post with his header in the first minute of play, completed the scoring for Al Nasr when he beat Hussain with his 52nd minute penalty by placing superbly to the goalie's left.

Earlier, Al Wasl pulled one back in the 41st minute, when Blas Perez tapped in from close range past a hapless Esmail Rabee and had Saeed Al Kas' goal ruled out as off-side, but that was as far as they pushed in their search for goals.

"What we saw was a good match from both teams. We were in a difficult situation because we missed some of our key players, but we put up a good fight. Derbies are special games and we did everything to try and win the match. I never felt any pressure and I wasn't nervous at all; not afraid about my position," said Pagelsdorf, whose side now has two wins in five matches.

"I'm happy with the performance of the team; we played good football and we put ourselves in a good situation. We know that [in Mobali] we have a good striker of the ball from free-kicks and that's what matters sometimes; this is football. People come to see goals and they got it."

Tenorio was stretchered off a few minutes after scoring and Pagelsdorf said his striker will "undergo an x-ray and then we'll have to see what happens".

Gracious in defeat

Guimaraes was gracious in defeat and praised his men for their "positive" reaction after going down. "The reaction was positive and we were back, but it isn't pleasant when you concede goals to three direct shots. We hadn't planned to start this way, but now it's up to us to find a solution. I've spoken with people at the club and we must look forward, that's the way to do it."

In Friday's early match, which turned out to be an ill-tempered one where either side had a man sent off, Baniyas beat Ajman 4-2.