Al Shabab earn fifth win of season

Abu Dhabi: Al Dhafra forced Al Ahli to settle for a 1-1 draw at Rashid Stadium on Saturday in the 13th week of the Etisalat Pro-League, while Al Shabab registered their fifth successive victory of the season in beating Al Shaab 3-0.

Al Ahli took the lead in the 44th minute when Grafite scored from the penalty spot to increase his tally to 19 goals in 13 matches. However, Makhete Diop levelled the scores in the final minute of regular time when he headed home a corner kick to win a valuable point.

Al Ahli remained in second place with 26 points while they awaited the outcome of the Al Wahda vs Al Jazira encounter, which was played later in the night. Al Dhafra, meanwhile, moved to 15 points.

In another early match, Al Shabab continued their winning run with a 3-0 win at Al Shaab, with Luiz Enrique scoring a brace and Edgar adding the other to increase their side’s points tally to 20. Al Shaab remained on seven points, meaning they remain deep in relegation trouble.

Enrique opened the scoring in the 25th minute, while Edgar added the second in the 50th. Enrique grabbed his second goal of the match in the 72nd minute to seal the win for Marcos Paqueta’s men.

The last week of the first round of the league will finish on Sunday with four matches.

Meanwhile, the Etisalat Pro-League title is still up for grabs, despite Al Ain being six points clear, according to Al Wasl coach Guy Lacombe.

Ten-time league winners and defending champions Al Ain are on a winning run of seven matches and remain unbeaten after 12 league games season, having scored 47 goals and conceded just 16.

Fuelled by the league’s top scorer Asamoah Gyan, who has netted 20 already, the Garden City club on Sunday travel to fourth-placed Al Nasr, whose coach Walter Zenga has already admitted that the only way his side will win is if the Al Ain bus gets stuck in traffic on its way to the stadium.

But Lacombe, whose Al Wasl side are seventh, 14 points off the leaders heading into their away game at Bani Yas on Sunday, remains confident everything is still to play for.

“In football anything is possible,” Lacombe said ahead of the 13th round of fixtures. “Al Ain are the favourites this season, but you never know. Two or three injuries to their foreign players and they may start to suffer losses. You cannot say they have won it already.

“League tables are shaping up all over the world and the UAE league is no different, but it’s not over yet.”