ABU DHABI // For the second time in three games, Al Wahda were left frustrated after failing to win against teams struggling at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf League table.
A goalless draw against second-bottom Emirates on Monday evening came nine days after a 1-1 draw with Kalba. In between, Wahda dispatched bottom side Baniyas 3-2.
Two points dropped for Wahda, although were it not for the heroics of Emirates goalkeeper Ibrahim Abdulla, the Abu Dhabi side would have earned victory.
“We played three draws and each time the opposition keeper was the best player of the match,” Wahda manager Jaiver Aguirre said.
“Teams like Emirates come with a defensive mindset and sometimes it’s hard to score against such play. We created several good scoring chances but I must say we were unlucky not to have at least one on the back of the net.”
Wahda were without Argentine striker Sebastian Tagliabue, the club’s leading scorer for the last three seasons, who is serving a three-match ban.
“He’s been at the top of our scoring charts but we don’t depend solely on him to score for us all the time,” Aguirre said.
“I believe we have one of the best attacking units and every player in every line in attack can score for us. It is another story that our offensive play were not rewarded on the night.”
Elsewhere, Gelmin Rivas fired a hat-trick as Sharjah bounced back from a goal down to win 4-1 and pile more misery on Baniyas.
Joaquin Larrivey put the visitor’s ahead on 34 minutes before Rivas equalised seven minutes later. The Venezuelan forward added two more after the break, with Saif Rashid on target in-between Rivas’s two second half goals.
Meanwhile, Henk ten Cate, the Al Jazira manager, warned his players of teams that are struggling at the bottom of the league table.
Jazira, who sit second in the table and are still unbeaten in this league campaign, host a winless Dibba side who sit in 12th place on Thursday evening.
Jazira are big favourites for the match, although Ten Cate has urged his players to avoid complacency, citing their 1-1 draw with Emirates at the start of the month.
“We were taught a lesson by Emirates when they held us to a draw, and similarly, Dibba can be dangerous,” the Dutchman said.
“Usually, everyone talks about the disparity between the two teams. This is not true. We must only remember the game against Emirates to realise how damaging it can be to think we already have three points in the bag against Dibba.”
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