Al Orooba relegated from Adnoc Pro League on final day

Al Wahda finish third after draw with Al Nasr as Sharjah take second place

Diaa Sabia opened the scoring for Al Nasr against Al Wahda at Al Nahyan Stadium on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Photo: PLC

Al Orooba were relegated from the Adnoc Pro League following their 2-1 defeat to Al Dhafra in heir final game of the season on Wednesday.

Needing a win at the Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium to survive the drop, Al Orooba celebrated an early goal through Mohammed Khalfan, who headed home a Gianluca Muniz cross on 15 minutes.

Al Orooba’s joy was short lived though as Waleed Ambar equalised. Their task was made more difficult after Cameroonian midfielder Appolinaire Kack was given the marching orders for a foul on Guilherme Vieira shortly before half time.

Reduced to 10 men, Al Orooba made a valiant attempt to regain the lead but Dhafra kept their cool and Suhail Al Mansoori’s rounded off the game with a curling left footer a minute from time to seal the win.

Al Orooba joined Emirates in being relegated from the top flight.

Meanwhile, Al Wahda’s hopes of finishing second to champions Al Ain ended in disappointment after the Abu Dhabi club they were held by Al Nasr 2-2 at the Al Nahyan Stadium.

Nasr took the lead through Diaa Sabia three minutes into the second half. The Israel winger picked up a pass from Mehdi Abeid, worked the ball inside the area before coolly slotting it past goalkeeper Rashed Ali.

Omar Khrbin restored parity when he stepped forward to score from the spot after Abdulla Al Balooshi brought down Rayane Benssy on 54 minutes.

It didn't take long for the visitors to regain the lead when their Portuguese midfielder Toze floated a cross into the penalty area for Glauber Lima to head home.

It looked as though Nasr had done enough to return with full points until Ismail Matar struck the equaliser deep into injury time. The Wahda captain found the back of the net when he connected with Ruben Filipe's superb cross with a powerful header.

The Abu Dhabi side ended their league campaign on 53 points, a point behind the second placed Sharjah.

Al Wasl ended their campaign on a high with a 2-1 victory over Al Jazira at the Zabeel Stadium.