Arabian Gulf League: Goals galore in Round 1 as Al Wahda put six past hapless Hatta

Al Dhafra, Sharjah and Baniyas all scored four in respective wins over Ajman, Fujairah and Al Wasl

Al Nasr’s Sebastian Tagliabue, right, vies for the ball with Al  Jazira defender Milos Kosanovic. Courtesy PLC
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The opening round of the Arabian Gulf League witnessed a glut of goals, although sadly no fans were in attendence to see them.

Seven games across two days saw 29 goals scored, the second highest after 31 were netted two seasons ago (2018/19).

While Round 1 may have lacked spectators with all matches being played behind closed doors due to coronavirus restrictions, it certainly made up for it in entertainment.

Al Wahda put six past 10-man Hatta while Al Dhafra, Sharjah and Baniyas all scored four in respective wins over Ajman, Fujairah and Al Wasl while Shabab Al Ahli Dubai made their numerical advantage over Kalba count following Sultan Al Zaabi's 22nd-minute dismissal by scoring three times.

However, the feature game of the opening round between Al Nasr and Al Jazira ended 1-1 at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on Friday.

Ryan Mendes put Nasr ahead in the fourth minute when he knocked in a rebound that came off the crossbar from Habib Al Fardan’s effort

Zayed Al Ameri struck the equaliser on 34 minutes.

Jazira almost pulled off a victory but UAE playmaker Omar Abdulrahman’s curling free kick crashed against the bar eight minutes from time.

Nasr ended the game with 10 men after Tariq Ahmed was shown a red card five minutes from time.

Al Wahda's emphatic victory over hapless Hatta, courtesy of strikes from Tim Matavz, Fares Juma Al Saadi, Tahnoon Alzaabi before two penalties in the last 10 minutes - converted by Ismail Matar and Paul-Jose M'Poku - was marred by an injury to Brazilian forward Henrique Luvannor.

Luvannor was forced to leave the field after 16 minutes in his first game for the Abu Dhabi side since signing from Shabab Al Ahli.

Wahda revealed Luvannor has suffered a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury and will undergo a medical test on Sunday and is a major doubt for Thursday's match against Sharjah.

Al Ain secured a 2-0 victory over Khor Fakkan thanks to goals from Rayan Yaslam and Wilson Eduardo.