Gritty Al Ain rally to overcome Al Wahda

The defending league champions Al Ain came twice from the behind to humiliate their traditional rivals Al Wahda 5-3 in the third round of the competition at Qattara stadium on Thursday.

The result as well as the big score was unique in the history of the two teams. Both squads were tied at 2-2 before the break. The hosts have collected seven points so far same as Al Ahli who are topping the standings on goal difference.

The Al Ain-Al Wahda game, considered as the derby of the Abu Dhabi emirate, was a thriller as both teams displayed a neat football that caught the admiration of the massive crowd that packed the stands of Al Qattara stadium.

They played openly from the word go looking for an early goal that could secure the three valuable points or at least help them to control the game.

The match was marred by swift attacks and enthusiasm from both sides. The hosts who were received upon their arrival to the field by their big mass of spectators by setting free a number of hundreds of violet pigeons, looked the dangerous side. But despite this, visitors were the first to hit the back of the net.

Their Brazilian pro Paolo Sergio was put clear by his teammate Abdulsalam Jumaa to slam the ball home only five minutes into the match. This early goal gave the Super Cup champions superiority over their hosts who looked unaffected by this sudden and quick goal.

Their midfielder Salim Jawhar came close to level the scores when he sent a rocket-like shot that saved by Al Wahda custodian Hussain Ali in the 14th minute. But Subait Khatir made for his colleague's chance with a 35-metre volley that went straight into the right hand corner three minutes later to make 1-1.

The draw helped the winners to have the upper hand and to control the midfield zone that led by Moroccan pro Saeed Kharazi who supplied his teammates with perfect passes.

Khatir came again to launch another powerful shot that rebounded off Al Wahda defence in the 24th minute at the feet of Sultan Rashid who did not hesitate to fire a brilliant shot that hit the bottom of the cross bar giving the hosts a 2-1 lead.

Al Ain doubled their efforts looking for the third goal whereas the visitors looked for the equaliser. Al Wahda's efforts were soon paid dividends when their midfielder AbdulRahim Jumaa pulled one back only seconds before the breather to end the first session with a 2-2 draw.

The two teams played a neck-to-neck second session and Al Wahda rightful back Fahd Masood again put them on lead when he scored the third goal with a right–footer that beat Al Ain goalie Waleed Salim.

The situation was reversed this time. Al Wahda looking for a fourth goal to secure their win while the hosts were struggling hard to bring the game to parity.

Al Ain squandered a series of chances but Mohammed Omer put them back again into the match when he scored the third goal to make it 3-3 in the 72nd minute. Skipper Fahd Ali gave Al Ain the lead 4-3 in the 82nd minute and Mohammed Omer completed the rout to give the winners a deserved 5-3 victory.

In the post press conference both coaches Bruno Metsu of Al Ain and Teni Richs of Al Wahda hailed the performance of both teams.

Metsu thanked his players for their excellent display and his counterpart Richs attributed the defeat to defensive blunders promising to bring his team to the top of the table as soon as possible.