Al Wahda overcame a sluggish first half to comfortably beat Dibba 4-0 in their Arabian Gulf League season opener at Fujairah Stadium on Thursday night.
Wahda dominated the early stages of the match, with new Brazilian signing Denilson at the heart of their best moves and Ismail Matar looking fit and lively after his injury troubles last season.
On nine minutes, Sebastian Tagliabue had the ball in the net after being put through by Matar but was correctly judged to be offside.
With the match taking place in 32 C temperatures, it was inevitable that Al Wahda’s early pressure would peter out. Dibba responded minutes later, with Khalifa Ibrahim volleying over after some good control inside the penalty area.
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After a nervous opening, Dibba began to take control of the game as their opponents dropped off noticeably.
The best chance of the half came on 20 minutes, but Bakari Kone fired a bouncing ball over from six yards after Wahda’s defence failed to clear.
Minutes later the home side came close again, this time the outstanding Tariq Ahmed’s long-range strike saved by Ali Al Hosani, who also brilliantly turned over a powerful Ibrahim left foot drive with ten minutes of the half left.
Wahda started the second period on the front foot and Tagliabue broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, collecting a dreadfully misplaced pass by Dibba goalkeeper Humaid Abdullah before ghosting into the penalty area and finishing with a well-placed right-foot shot.
A difficult job for Dibba became almost impossible when Kone received a second yellow card for a wild tackle on Matar that could have drawn a straight red.
Tagliabue ended the contest on 73 minutes after a mistake by Saeed Mohammed allowed him to shoot hard and low to the goalkeeper’s right. He then set up substitute Mohammed Al Akbari to score with a tap-in before Bader Al Harthi completed the job in the dying seconds.
Man of the match
Sebastian Tagliabue may have been run close by Dibba’s excellent Tariq Ahmed in the first half, but in the end it was the familiar figure of Tagliabue who stood head and shoulders above everyone else. His strong running, excellent control, two tidy finishes and an assist gave Al Wahda an ultimately comfortable win.
What the managers said
Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre said: “In the first half Dibba was better, they defended well and attacked better than us. In the second we made some tactical changes in midfield, and we took advantage of their mistakes to score. Sebastian is always focused on scoring. Today, he took advantage of their mistakes.”
Dibba coach Theo Bucker said: “It sounds funny after a heavy result, but I’m not unhappy. If you look at the details, they didn’t beat us, we lost it. That is the big difference between a big club like Al Wahda and us.”
The National’s verdict
Al Wahda were lucky not to be behind at half time, and stronger teams will punish them on this form.
Their greater experience and fitness showed in the second half, and in Denilson and Sebastian Tagliabue they have two players capable of changing any match. They will care only for the three points, but they will need to play better if they are to challenge for the title.
The result was harsh on Dibba, who were excellent in the first period and have a future star in winger Tariq Ahmed.
However, their coach will be alarmed at their defensive collapse late on. Unless they tighten up at the back, it could be a very long season for the Arabian Gulf League new boys.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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