DUBAI// A sneaky first-half strike from Jorge Valdivia gave Al Ain a 1-0 win at Al Nasr in their Group C match in the Etisalat Cup. The Chilean scored with a quickly-taken free-kick in the 41st minute in a match in which the visitors were in control. Nasr, in a midst of a change of guard with Luka Bonacic stepping down as coach and his assistant Cristophe Jordan at the helm for this game, meandered aimlessly through the 90 minutes and could have lost by more.
On the half-hour, the goalkeeper Abdullah Musa's footwork could have cost Nasr dear as he tried to round Jorge Valdivia. He lost the ball to the Ain captain, who failed to capitalise after miscontrolling the ball. Valdivia had better luck 11 minutes later when caught Musa and his defence napping with a free-kick from the edge of the box that landed in the net without the keeper flinching. Nasr's best chance of an equaliser came in the 58th minute when Salem Mubarak was put through on goal, but he delayed his shot and he was dispossesed by the Ain defence.
In Group A, Al Wahda won 1-0 at Sharjah thanks to a goal in the first-half. arizvi@thenational.ae
