Al Nasr made a winning start to their ADIB Cup campaign with a commanding 3-1 victory over United on Sunday, overcoming a first-half equaliser before pulling away after the break.
Al Nasr controlled much of the opening period and eventually found the breakthrough in the 27th minute. João Moreira Sanmartín split the United defence with a well-weighted through ball for Kevin Andrés Agudelo, who cut inside, beat his marker and fired a low finish through the goalkeeper's legs to put Al Nasr ahead.
United refused to go into the interval behind, however, and found a way back into the contest deep into first-half stoppage time.
Bandar Al Ahbabi's cross took a deflection off a defender and dropped into a dangerous area, allowing Shavy Babicka to rise above the Al Nasr defence and power a header into the net to make it 1-1.
The game remained finely balanced after the restart, but Al Nasr regained the lead just before the hour mark.
A foul inside the area presented Ajdin Hrustic with the opportunity from the penalty spot, and the midfielder made no mistake, calmly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to restore Al Nasr's advantage.
The visitors then struck again just four minutes later.
Hrustic turned provider this time, delivering a dangerous cross into the penalty area. Wesley Delgado timed his movement perfectly to arrive at the right moment and direct a powerful header into the net, giving Al Nasr a 3-1 lead in the 63rd minute.
United struggled to find a response after conceding twice in quick succession, while Al Nasr managed the remainder of the contest with greater control and limited their opponents' opportunities to mount another comeback.
The victory caps a composed performance from Al Nasr, who combined incisive attacking play with greater efficiency after the interval to turn a level game into a convincing opening win in the ADIB Cup.
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