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Al Shabab to take on Al Ahli in Arabian Gulf Cup final

Dubai - A good crowd egged on both teams and although Al Wasl did the early running it was Shabab that came close to scoring.

If Al Wasl coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena was expecting his lads to correct their mistakes that led to their President's Cup exit at the hands of Sharjah a week ago, he was sadly mistaken. The Cheetahs were tamed by hosts Al Shabab in the Arabian Gulf Cup semis at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium late on Monday evening.
And in the Capital, Al Jazira coach Henk ten Cate suffered a similar fate as the Argentinian after 'The Pride of Abu Dhabi' were beaten by Al Ahli by a solitary goal. This came following Jazira's President's Cup humiliation last Wednesday.
Coming to the 'Dubai derby' a goal each from Mohammed Ibrahim Eid and Luvannor Henrique booked a final spot for 'Al Jawareh' for the second year running.
A good crowd egged on both teams and although Al Wasl did the early running it was Shabab that came close to scoring.
Mohamed Ibrahim Eid had two good sorties at the goal but his first attempt sailed over the Wasl goal and the second was saved by goalkeeper Yousif Ali Zaabi.
The Cheetahs were not willing to play second fiddle and within minutes came close to scoring but Yousif's opposite number Salem Abdulla denied Fabio De Lima a goal from hand-shaking distance. The Hawks' goalkeeper once again proved a stumbling block when dived to block a Sergio Antonio's powerful shot directed at goal.
While Al Wasl were still rueing their misses on the other hand Shabab struck when Mohamed Ibrahim Eid tapped home after Yousif had done well to parry away Luvannor Henrique's effort.
In the second half a pumped up Shabab went for the jugular. Luvannor's first attempt, a header, hit the underneath of the crosspiece and came back into play but he could not be stopped when he applied the finishing touches to a defence-splitting pass from Tomas De Vincenti.
- clareto@khaleejtimes.com