AL AIN // Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach, hailed his players for a “standout performance” that ended Al Wahda’s 20-match run without defeat since January last season.
The 11-time league champions hammered Wahda 4-0 on Wednesday night at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium to underline their status as the new favourites for the Arabian Gulf League title.
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Ibrahim Diaky scored an early goal to provide the perfect start for the Garden City club. Fayez Juma doubled it seven minutes later before Miroslav Stoch scored on either side of half time to complete the rout.
“We went with the objective of winning but didn’t expect the kind of result we achieved at the end, particularly when we didn’t have five to six key players,” Dalic said.
“Of course, it is a result we can be very happy of because it can increase the confidence of our players.
“It was really a standout performance for which I can only congratulate my players.
“However, winning one game is not our long-term objective. Our ambition is to win the league, and for this reason we need to keep working harder and continue to achieve good results.”
Al Ain sorely missed the services of some of their key players, but Wahda had problems of their own.
Sebastian Tagliabue, their leading scorer, was granted permission to travel to his native Argentina to be with his ailing brother.
Adel Al Hosani, the Wahda goalkeeper who had been outstanding in recent matches, was serving a one-match ban for accumulating three yellow cards. Al Ain missed their suspended Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan, as well as the injured Emirati midfielder Omar Abdulrahman and Congolese winger Jires Kembo-Ekoko.
Jose Peseiro, the Wahda coach, did not look for excuses and said it was one of those days when everything goes against a team.
“We didn’t play well in the first half yet we did come back stronger after the break, but after falling back 3-0, it is never easy to come back against a team like Al Ain,” he said.
“I think we had a remarkable run of being undefeated in 20 league games and this kind of setback was bound to happen. We can only get back and continue with our team-building exercise.”
Diaky controlled a long ball from Helal Saeed with his chest, got past the Wahda centre-back Hussain Fadhel and stabbed into the back of the net for the opening goal.
Stoch rolled a free kick towards Mohammed Fayez, who sent a dipping cross from the left flank for Juma to head home Al Ain’s second.
It could have been 3-0 for the hosts if not for Wahda’s right back Adel Abdulla, who made an excellent goal-line clearance by heading out Mohanad Salem’s effort off a corner.
Al Ain did not have to wait long for their third goal, though. Stoch collected a through pass from the South Korean Lee Myung-joo and rounded Wahda centre-back Hamdan Al Kamali before unleashing a powerful shot to the roof of the net shortly before the break.
The Slovakian international added his second when set up with a through pass from Diaky from a counter-attack.
Star performer Miroslav Stoch (Al Ain) – It was hard to single out one Al Ain player, but with two goals and a hand in another, the Slovakian international stood out.
Underperformer Ismail Matar (Al Wahda) – The ageing captain was in his second start of the season, and was replaced in 68th minute.
Key moment The Wahda defence was caught napping early and Ibrahim Diaky made most of it with an early goal that provided Al Ain with the perfect start.
Al Ain rating 7/10 They had the game in control after scoring from the chances they created in the first half. A 3-0 lead at half time was beyond the reach of a comeback against a team of Al Ain's calibre.
Al Wahda rating 4/10 Two early goals sent the panic siren ringing for Wahda. They were completely outplayed in the first half and were under pressure for the remainder of the game.
Our verdict With Wednesday's display, and two games in hand, Al Ain look to be the front-runners in the race. They moved to fifth on 20 points, just two behind the leaders and with two postponed games left against Fujairah and Al Shabab.
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at SprtNationalUAE
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Company%20profile
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Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
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- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
SHAITTAN
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani