Mustafa Al-Deeb (Abu Dhabi)
Al-Wahda was crowned champion of the “16th edition” of the “Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup” for football, after defeating Al-Ain with a goal in the final match that was held at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium at Al-Jazira Club in the capital, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of a large crowd, and the goal was signed by the defender. Lucas Pimenta in the 15th minute, with a wonderful header, following a typical cross by Sultan Al Zaabi from the left side.
Ismail Matar, the historic star of “The Excellencies,” lifted the championship cup, marking the “final touch” of his football career with Al-Wahda.
“Al-Anabi” succeeded in winning the third title in the tournament, breaking the partnership with Al-Ain and Al-Nasr, which have two titles, to raise Al-Wahda to the “runner-up” position with the most winning teams in the tournament, after Shabab Al-Ahly, which has 5 titles.
The match was strong and exciting, and despite Al-Ain’s good start with offensive pressure on Al-Wahda’s defence, the latter succeeded in its plan, relying on counter-attacks that represented a great danger to Khaled Issa’s goal, Al-Zaeem’s goalkeeper.
In the second half, Al Ain imposed control over the match, and intensified the offensive pressure, in order to score the equalizer, but Al Wahda’s defense was steadfast, as was goalkeeper Rashid Ali, who blocked more than one ball, and Al Ain players wasted a number of opportunities to score from between the feet of Sufyan Rahimi. , as well as two heads of Lapa Cudjo.
Al-Wahda’s defense succeeded in withstanding Al-Ain’s overwhelming attack, thanks to the good organization in the back line and calmness in handling the ball, unlike Al-Ain, whose performance was flawed by haste in many of the balls.
Serbian Goran, Al Wahda’s coach, succeeded in outperforming Al Ain’s Argentine coach, Crespo, in defensive aspects, while the latter did not succeed in deciphering the “hierarchy” of the “Anabi” defense, despite possessing powerful weapons, worth the value of Lapa and Sufyan Rahimi.
Luck stood in the way of “Al-Zaeem” equalizing in a number of attempts, most notably Laba’s header, which hit the left post in the 82nd minute, and was rebounded by a dangerous attack by Al-Wahda, during which Omar Kharbin wasted the opportunity to strengthen with a second goal in the 83rd minute.
Al-Wahda star Ismail Matar participated in the 86th minute, raising the championship cup as the captain of Al-Anabi. Despite Matar’s participation with the aim of controlling the midfield, Al-Ain’s attempts continued to equalize, but they were lost successively, so the match ended with Al-Wahda’s victory and the championship title.
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