Three teams set early UFL pace

Dubai: Al Jazira, Bani Yas and Al Ain maintained their positions as early contenders at the end of the second round of action in the etisalat pro league last week.

Though all three clubs from Abu Dhabi have been impressive in their start, with Al Jazira the most telling with two well-planned wins — opening with a 3-0 drubbing of Al Nasr and following it up with a hard-fought 2-1 result against Sharjah — all coaches have been cautious.

In fact, the managers have insisted that it is far too early to decide favourites with just two matches gone into the pro league.

Bani Yas has shown good early form with two wins from as many matches — a solitary goal result away against Al Shabab followed by a comfortable 2-0 win against Al Dhafrah last week.

And Al Ain overcame their shoddy start of winning 4-3 against Dubai Club and keeping their best for the end to thump bottom-placed Al Nasr 3-0 to join Al Jazira and Bani Yas at the top of the standings.

And their Brazilian striker seems to have taken off where he left after ending the top scorer last season with two braces in each of the matches to become the current leader in goals with four strikes to his credit.

And it must be pretty heartening for Abel Braga and his boys to see city rivals and defending champions Al Wahda get off to a faltering start with a 2-0 away win to Al Wasl. Al Wahda did well in the second week with a 3-1 win against newcomers Ittihad Kalba, but could do little when their coach Lazslo Boloni got the marching orders after a mere three matches at the helm.

With Brazilian Tite as their new coach, the UAE champions have a lot to prove as they brace for a hectic season ahead that includes the Fifa World Club Cup and the AFC Champions League, not to mention the handful of domestic UAE competitions.

With the big three occupying the top, teams like big-spending Al Ahli and Al Shabab put their campaigns back on track with positive results last week. Perhaps, Al Ahli was the most impressive in their 4-1 demolition of high-flying city neighbours Al Wasl, while Al Shabab churned out a 2-0 win against lowly Dubai Club.

So when the pro league takes a short two-week break in line with the international calendar, all 12 participating teams have a second chance to mount their challenges. While the top three — Al Jazira, Bani Yas and Al Ain — will need to just maintain their focus and momentum, the remaining nine will have to go the extra yard to iron out the creases to ensure they are up to the task of being worthy challengers.

• Goals scored: 37
• Top scorer: Jose Sand - 4 goals

Big results: Al Ahli bt Al Wasl 4-1; Al Jazira bt Al Nasr 3-0; Al Ain bt Al Nasr 3-0; Sharjah bt Ittihad Kalba 3-0.

• Club P W D L F A GD Pts
• Al Ain 2 2 0 0 7 3 4 6
• Al Jazira 2 2 0 0 5 1 4 6
• Bani Yas 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
• Sharjah 2 1 0 1 4 2 2 3
• Al Ahli 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 3
• Al Shabab 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 3
• Al Wahda 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
• Al Dhafrah 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
• Al Wasl 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3
• Dubai Club 2 0 0 2 3 6 -3 0
• Ittihad Kalba 2 0 0 2 1 6 -5 0
• Al Nasr 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0