Al Dhafra claim pivotal win in relegation battle

Mohammed Abdulqader struck a brace to down Al Wasl 2-1 and give Al Dhafra a massive boost in their battle to avoid relegation. Abdulqader gave the visitors an early 3rd minute lead and then doubled the score in the 55th minute from the penalty spot. Juma Abdulla's fortuitous 70th minute header raised the hopes of the home fans, but Dhafra held on for a deserved win. The three points take Dhafra's tally to 20, improving their position from 10th to eighth in the Pro League. Wasl, who finished the game with 10 men following Ali Masri's red card for the tackle on Abdulqader that led to the penalty, are a spot above with 24 points. For his opening goal, Abdulqader was the beneficiary of a poor effort by Oliveira to clear Salah Ahmed's free-kick. The Brazilian lobbed the ball into the air, towards Abdulqader a few metres away and the Togolese striker accepted the gift with a robust finish. The early setback forced Wasl to go on the offensive and skipper Tariq Darwish, creating space on the right, came close to equalising three minutes. Dhafra keeper Abdulbasit Mohammed, however, had the angle well covered. The keeper did well again in the 28th minute, tipping Juma Abdulla's header over the woodwork. Three minutes later, he dived low to save Saeed al Kaas's scorcher from close range. Wasl's hopes of a fight back received a crushing blow in the 53rd minute when Masri brought down Abdulqader. Referee Hamad Sheikh pointed to the spot and flashed the red card for the Wasl defender. Abdulqader, who had to take the penalty kick a second time for his team-mates movement behind him, placed the ball low to Majed Nasser's left to make it 2-0. Reduced to 10 men, the hosts bounced back in the 70th minute when Juma Abdulla's header deflected off a defender into the goal. Khayri Khalfan thought he had brought off a goal-line save when he kicked the ball back into play, but the referee deemed it had crossed the line. Oliveira managed to pierce the defence in the 81st minute, but his goal was chalked off for offside. In the 84th minute, Iman Mobali almost scored the second for the hosts, but a brilliant save from Dhafra keeper Abdulbasit denied him. In tonight's other match Ajman beat Al-Nasr 2-1. arizvi@thenational.ae