(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Al Ain got their Arabian Gulf League title defence rolling with a 3-1 win over Al Dhafra at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Friday evening.
South Korean midfielder Lee Myung Joo had given 'The Boss' the lead on 27 minutes before former Al Wahda striker Saeed Al Kathiri who made it to the starting line-up in place of the injured Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike added the second two minutes later. Substitute Rashed Eisa the former Al Wasl midfielder scored the third four minutes from the final whistle. Al Dhafra reduced the margin through substitute Hamad Ali Alahbabi in the first minute of stoppage time. Emenike on loan from Turkish club Fenerbahce was forced to miss the game after a muscle injury sustained during the Arabian Gulf Super Cup win over Al Nasr. Al Ain carried on from where they left from the Super Cup with a large chunk of possession as well as a dominant performance in the first half. Al Dhafra who were mostly left to play second fiddle did have a couple of opportunities later in the half. Former Al Wahda striker Saeed Al Kathiri could have given Al Ain the lead but he fluffed his lines after he had beaten goalkeeper Abdulla Sultan Alnasri and had an open goal in sight. Instead he tried to set it up for Lee Myung Joo and made a mess of it. But the lead duly arrived minutes later after a bit of action following which Lee Myung Joo put his name on the scoresheet. Ibrahim Diaky passed to Ryan Babel and the former Ajax and Liverpool winger unleashed a pile driver from 30 yards out. But goalkeeper Abdulla Sultan Alnasri did well to block it but couldn't get a hold of it. Saeed Al Kathiri pounced on the rebound but saw his shot hit the far post. Lee then calmly tapped the rebound home on 27 minutes. The Garden City club added a cushion to that two minutes later with Al Kathiri making amends for his earlier miss. Omar Abdulrahman slipped it in for Kathiri who rounded off Ibrahim Saeed Al Yaqoubi before firing a curling left footer in. Al Dhafrah tried to stage a fightback with captain Makhete Diop who was rewarded with a contract extension at the forefront. But he was clearly lacking in support as the match wore on and the Western Knights couldn't make it count. The muscular Diop saw his threatening header collected by goalkeeper Khalid Eisa later in the half after which Spanish striker David Barral Torres a product of the Real Madrid youth system headed it over the crossbar after an inch perfect cross from Diop from the left. But their biggest miss came after the break with Diop deflecting a ball over the cross bar from close range on 54 minutes. Al Ain though kept at it and Fellipe Bastos came close but his clever chip from inside the box was blocked and collected safely by Abdulla Sultan Alnasri. Later Omar added a touch of his usual class with a cheeky chip after playing a one-two with Al Kathiri. But Abdulla Sultan Alnasri showed good reflexes to deflect Al Kathiri's effort from close range. Substitute Rashid Essa who had come for Al Kathiri rounded it off with the third chipping it over Abdulla Sultan Alnasri after a superb through from Omar four minutes from time.
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