Bani Yas trounce Hatta

Bani Yas leapt into second place of the second group after trouncing Hatta (3-0) yesterday at home here, in the UAE's second division football league.

Bani Yas, relegated last season, increased their tally to 11 points from six matches, one point behind Al Araby, who dethroned former leader Al Rams by beating them with a solitary goal yesterday. Bani Yas were the better side throughout the match.

They took almost complete control of midfield, capitalising on the outstanding form of their foreign players - midfielder Ghaiss Al Gadhban from Tunisia and Sudanese striker James Joseph.

Their Tunisian coach, Latfi Rahimi, was successful in up-grading a number of talented and highly motivated youngsters who proved their worth, such as Mohammed Haboosh, Faisal Hamad, Yousuf Jabir and their custodian Mohammed Bin Dhaboun.

The home team created a number of scoring chances early in the match but James, Haboosh and Al Gadhban lost concentration and failed to put their team into the lead.

Bani Yas excelled in corner kicks and should have scored many goals from them but had to wait 27 minutes for their first breakthrough. It was following a corner kick, sent by Al Gadhban to James, who headed in the home team's first goal.

Four minutes before the breather, Al Gadhban tried his luck with a fierce 30 yard shot that rebounded from the upright.

Bani Yas continued to dominate after the break and Hatta's Abdullah Saqr substituted both his Moroccan strikers, Saeed Annan and Abdul Karim Nazeer, as they failed to meet his expectations.

Abdil Haboosh, who replaced his younger brother Mohammed, sent a penetrating pass to Al Gadhban, whose 25 yard shot registered Bani Yas' second goal 22 minutes after the interval.

One minute before the final whistle, James sealed the result for Bani Yas with another tremendous header, off a Yousuf Jabir cross from the left flank.

The top two teams from the two groups proceed to the semifinals to decide the two teams which will be promoted to the first division next season.