Al Wasl trounce Fujairah

Fabio Lima of Al Wasl scores a goal against Fujairah during the AGL in Dubai.

 Hosts Al Wasl demolished visitors Fujairah with precision play in the second half for a 5-1 victory in the sixth round of the Arabian Gulf League on Saturday.
The stars of the night were Al Wasl's Fabio de Lima and Edgar Bruno who made incisive moves on the inside right at the top of the Fujairah danger zone in the second period.
Caio Canedo opened the gates for goals in the first minute after half time with a cleverly placed shot to goalkeeper Mohammad Salem's right (1-0). Fabio De Lima consolidated the situation for the Yellows with a beauty past the diving Salem (2-0) three minutes later. Hugo Viana worked his way past two Fujairah half liners to send in a swirling cross which was tailor made for Edgar Bruno to head home diving, in the 66th minute (3-1).
In the 68th minute Fabio de Lima sold a dummy in a one-two passing bout on the right top corner of the Fujairah penalty area. He let another forward take the pass and meanwhile ran into an empty spot to accept a through pass to put the ball past a stunned Fujairah defence (4-1). Edgar Bruno made it 5-1 in the 75th minute with another piece of splendid set-play, this time on the left, in combination with Lima and Hassan Zahran who cut in fast from the half line.
Thereafter it was nothing but an Al Wasl display of short crisp passes that saw the Fujairah defence except for the keeper, being shredded to pieces under the sustained pressure. The playmaking skills of the imports along with Abdulla Kazim and Yaser Salem provided the frontline with plenty of openings past a midfield that did not exist for the visitors in the second half.
Khalil Khamis in the 59th minute brought Fujairah briefly back into the game (1-2) when they managed to counter attack effectively. Khamis calmly let go of a stinger despite having two players to challenge him on top of the box, leaving the Cheetahs' goaltender Rashid Ali beaten hands down.  A self goal by Fujairah's Abdulazia Ismael was not accounted for as referee spotted an infringement during a goalmouth melee in the 88th minute.
The first half, was on the other hand was a far better fought period with both sides enjoying a fair share of the exchanges. Fujairah surprised the home defence on three occasions when skipper Madjid Bougherra, Munaheed Khamis and Ibrahim Khamis caught the Yellows on the wrong foot. Keeper Ali was up to the occasion with splendid anticipation and agility to thwart these efforts of the visitors midway through the first half.
moni@khaleejtimes.com