Dubai: Al Wasl coach Laurentiu Reghecampf hopes his team can continue with the winning momentum following their hard-fought win over Al Dhafra, while Al Ain continued to play catch-up with leaders Shabab Al Ahli Dubai in the 18th round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL), late on Thursday.
Al Ain, Khor Fakkan and Al Wasl all secured identical 2-1 wins over Fujairah, Bani Yas and Al Dhafra respectively as defending champions Sharjah dropped vital points after being held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Hatta.
Even though Shabab were scheduled to play cross-city rivals late on Friday, they continue leading the league standings with 39 points, followed by Al Ain with 37 points, while Sharjah continue in third with 32 points and Al Jazira in fourth with 30 points.
“A win is a win for us and we are pleased with the three points tonight. I commend my team for the great fighting spirit they displayed throughout the 90 minutes,” Al Wasl coach Reghecampf told media.
“I’ve told my team that we need not look too far away. We need to take one match at a time and keep on improving on every aspect each time.”
Welliton Soares opened the scoring for the Cheetahs on the eleventh minute, while Joao Pedro equalised for visiting Al Dhafra in the 55th minute. The home side continued pressing and were finally rewarded in the 74th minute when Fabio de Lima wove his way in to score what proved to be the match-winner.
“Our focus is now to ensure we keep this winning momentum going,” Reghecampf said.
“We’ve had to put up with a lot of injuries to some of our key players. But the substitutes have done a great job in fighting throughout and ensuring we had the three points. We always knew that this was not going to be an easy match, so I think we fully deserve the full points,” he added.
RESULTS
Sharjah 1 Hatta 1
Al Ain 1 Fujairah 2
Khor Fakkan 2 Bani Yas 1
Al Wasl 2 Al Dhafra 1
