Al Wahda felt the absence of their key foreign players on Thursday night when they were held to a goalless draw by Al Dhafra.
Wahda were without 14-goal striker Sebastian Tagliabue and Hungarian midfielder Balazs Dzsudzsak after both were suspended for receiving red cards during the 5-1 defeat to Al Jazira last week. First-choice goalkeeper Rashed Alsuwaidi was also missing due to his fourth minute red card against Jazira. Meanwhile Chilean playmaker Jorge Valdivia remains sidelined with injury.
In a game of few chances, the first real opportunity arrived a minute before the interval, Hamdan Al Kamali’s long range free-kick finding the head of defensive partner Salem Sultan, whose effort ended up straight in the arms of Dhafra goalkeeper Zayed Al Hammadi.
Goal-scoring chances remained a premium in the second-half, although Wahda captain Ismail Matar was presented with two chances from dangerous free-kick areas.
“I’m very happy with the performances of my young players but not the result,” Wahda manager Javier Aguirre said. “We could have won this game had we been on target with the chances we created. I think we lost an opportunity tonight.
“Obviously, the absence of our key players has severely affected the team. But we have must face the realities. We haven’t lost hope of a top four finish though.”
The result means Wahda close the gap on fourth-placed Al Wasl, occupying the last of the Asian Champions League places, to five points although the Dubai club have played a game less and travel to face rivals Al Nasr on Friday.
Dhafra, meanwhile, jump above Al Shabab into seventh, although they too have a game in hand and take on bottom side Baniyas on Friday.
“Wahda didn’t have the full team but to return with an away point is a good result for us,” Dhafra manager Mohammed Quaid said. “We need to keep all these good results for our team. We played below par but the important thing tonight was taking a point from Wahda.
“Wahda controlled the game but we also had a few chances to score and win the game. However, that didn’t happen. We are also missing Makhete Diop (who crossed over to Al Ahli) and Omar Khrbin (to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia). We are still trying to adapt to those who came in place of them. We lost these two players but the club has gained financially and I think the players will also benefit from their moves to bigger clubs.”
* The National staff
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