Shabab Al Ahli earned a valuable 4-2 away from home win over Khorfakkan at Saqr bin Mohammad al Qassimi Stadium in the first leg of the Arabian Gulf Cup quarter-final, which is held under the name of "Mohammed Bin Rashid", in celebration of the 15th anniversary of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as the head of the UAE Government.
The guests got off to a strong start, as Ahmed Al Attas opened the scoring in the 12th minute following a perfect pass from Carlos Eduardo inside the box. Shabab Al Ahli made it 2-0 only seven minutes later, when Heldon Ramos headed the ball past Khorfakkan keeper to further extend the guests’ lead.
Carlos Eduardo then turned from provider to scorer in the 42nd minute, as he netted a header to hand his side a 3-0 lead ahead of halftime.
The guests were forced to continue the game with 10 men after Abdulaziz Haikal was sent off in the 67th minute for violent conduct against Juninho.
Ten minutes from time, Khorfakkan reduced the deficit thanks to a long-range effort from Bruno Lamas that left Shabab Al Ahli keeper helpless. Shabab Al Ahli’s Mohammed Marzooq then mistakenly scored an own goal three minutes later to make it 3-2. However, Shabab Al Ahli extended their lead once more after they were awarded a penalty that was converted by Federico Cartabia in the 88th minute.
Khorfakkan’s goal scorer Lamas was shown a straight red card deep into the injury time, as Shabab Al Ahli emerged 4-2 victorious and will now be looking to seal their semi-final spot when they face Khorfakkan in the second leg at Rashid Stadium on January 26th.
Send feedback
