Abu Dhabi, UAE – Al Ain achieved a resounding victory over their guest Sharjah, with four goals to one, in the match that brought them together today in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the UAE Professional League Cup.
Al Ain met Sharjah at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup.
Al Ain started the match strongly, as they succeeded in scoring the first goal in the 17th minute, through an own goal by Sharjah player David Petrovic, when he tried to clear a cross ball but it ended up in his team’s net.
Laba Kodjo added Al Ain’s second goal in the 21st minute, after a brilliant pass from Soufiane Rahimi.
Manaj narrowed the gap for Sharjah in the 30th minute, ending the first half with Al Ain leading 2-1.
In the second half, Al Ain continued their dominance over Sharjah, increasing their goal tally, as Soufiane Rahimi scored a third goal in the 51st minute. The goal came after a very powerful shot from close range that found the back of the net.
Matias Palacios completed Al Ain’s four-goal haul in the 61st minute with a brilliant individual effort, after he dribbled past several players and then shot a ball into the net.
Sharjah then tried to reduce the gap, but to no avail, and the match ended with Al Ain winning by a score of (4-1).
With that result, Al Ain of the UAE qualifies for the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Bank Cup, having won the first leg 3-1 and thus securing a 7-2 aggregate victory.
In a penalty shootout, Al-Nasr eliminates Shabab Al-Ahli from the Professional League Cup.
In the same round, Al Nasr team eliminated its counterpart Shabab Al Ahli after winning against it on penalties with a score of 3-2, after the original time of the match ended with Al Ameed winning with a score of 3-2.
The first leg ended with Al Ahli winning (2-1), so the two teams resorted to penalty kicks to decide who would qualify for the semi-finals.
Al Nasr managed to open the scoring in the 14th minute, through Iranian Mehdi Ghayedi, before Shabab Al Ahli responded with an equalizer 10 minutes later through Brazilian Matheus Dias Lima, who took advantage of a mistake in Al Nasr’s defense.
In the last minute of the first half, Qaidi managed to snatch the second goal for Al-Nasr, before Colombian Kevin Agudelo added the third goal in the 61st minute.
While substitute Yuri Cesar managed to reduce the deficit again for Shabab Al Ahli in the 81st minute, the match then went to penalties, where luck smiled on Al Nasr, setting up a meeting with Al Ain, who had defeated Sharjah.
