(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Midfielder Omar celebrates UAE call-up with winner against Al Fujairah
Abu Dhabi: Amer Omar celebrated his call-up to the UAE squad for the Gulf Cup by scoring the winner against a subdued Al Fujairah as Al Wahda maintained their unbeaten run in the Arabian Gulf League.
The midfielder who was named in Mahdi Ali’s 24-man short-list on Sunday on the back of impressive performances this season came up with a superb deflection off Tawfeeq Al Hosani in the opening minutes as Al Wahda won by a solitary goal at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Monday night.
But the youngster did have an injury scare though when he hurt his right ankle during a challenge. The 23-year-old was stretchered off with 13 minutes remaining. He was attended to by the team doctor who wrapped an ice pack around his right ankle. It was later confirmed that it was not serious.
It was a much improved and solid performance by Al Wahda who had dropped points after back-to-back draws against Al Wasl and Ajman. They also opened up a four-point gap at the top of the League over city rivals Al Jazira albeit just for a day though as ‘The Spiders’ are slated to play against Ittihad Kalba on Tuesday.
Al Wahda raised their tally to 18 points from eight games with five wins and three draws. For Al Fujairah who had registered their first win last week against Ittihad Kalba it was a game to forget. It was Al Fujairah’s third loss in seven games after a win and three draws. They have six points and are placed 11th.
Al Wahda turned it on right from the start and broke the deadlock in the opening seconds of the sixth minute through Amer Omar which turned out to be the winner.
Sebastian Tagliabue galloped down the right and made his way in before cutting it back. Al Fujairah goalkeeper Ayyoub Al Marzouqi could only manage to punch it away. Mohammed Al Shehhi then latched on to it and set it up for Tawfeeq Al Hosani. Al Hosani took aim but his effort hit the defence and fell in Tagliabue’s path. Tagliabue made space and passed it to Al Hosani whose shot was deflected in by Amer Omar who was on the left of the goalmouth.
Al Wahda coach Jose Peseiro had said prior to the game that a technical change in defence had seen them leak goals earlier but added that there will be more harmony in the backline against Al Fujairah. And that was evident as the Al Wahda defence looked tight. The midfield and frontline too showed a lot of cohesion. Al Fujairah did manage to stray a few times but they either lacked the finish in the final third or ran into a water-tight Al Wahda defence.
Hassan Maatouk was stand out on the left flank and Hassan Yebda and Madjid Bouguerra too sparkled in flashes but couldn’t get through enough balls in for Boubacar Sanogo who found himself lonely upfront. Ismail Matar who has been named in the UAE squad after recovering from injury did get some match time after he came on with nine minutes left in place of Damian Diaz.
jameskhaleejtimes.com
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