Al Ain hit Al Dhafra for seven, Sharjah beat Bani Yas
DUBAI: LABA Kodjo’s super hat-trick helped Al Ain pull off a 7-0 win over Al Dhafra in match week two of the Adnoc Pro League at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday.
It took just 11 minutes for the drama to start unfolding when Caio Canedo floated in a brilliant cross from the right into the penalty area, where Kodjo towered above Al Dhafra’s defense to thump his header past Abdulla Sultan Alnasri.
Kodjo cemented his side’s lead in the 29th minute when he was put through on goal with a brilliant ball before the Togolese striker calmly sloted the ball into the back of the net.
The reigning champions added the third goal when a deflected ball reached Andrii Yarmolenko, who easily tapped the ball into the botom right corner with a clinical finish from the six-yard box.
Two minutes before the two teams headed to the dressing rooms for the break, Kodjo scored the fourth goal of the night when he met Soufian Rahimia’s cross with a perfect diving header into the botom corner of Alnasri’s net.
Eight minutes ater the hour mark, the Togolese striker grabbed his super hat-trick when Saeed Juma fired a low cross from the right flank into the six yards, where Kodjo met with a fine finish.
Danilo Arboleda scored the sixth goal of the night in the 81st minute with a powerful header that nestled into the botom corner of the net, before Moroccan Soufian Rahimi made it 7-0 with a brilliant right-footed effort from inside the penalty area.
Sharjah registered a comfortable 3-0 win over Bani Yas at the Sharjah Stadium.
Francisco Alcacer needed just 15 minutes to open the scoring for the hosts with a clinical finish from close range ater being set up by Salem Sultan following a brilliant cross from Miralem Pjanic, Sharjah’s new signing from Barcelona.
At the 34th minute, the hosts were awarded a penalty ater Alcacer was brought down inside the box by Khalid Mohamed Hashemi, prompting the referee to point to the spot.
Pjanic stepped up and watched his effort from the spot hiting the back of the net, making it 2-0 for his side.
Only three minutes before the two teams headed to the dressing rooms for the break, the hosts cemented their lead when Alcacer teed Luan Pereira up on the let wing as the later brilliantly nestled the ball into the back of the net.
“I came here with the intention of playing for a long time and help my new team win titles,” Pjanic, who counts 107 international appearances for his country, said of his first appearance for Sharjah.
“I have achieved that with many clubs I played for and I want to do the same at Sharjah,” the winner of four Serie A titles added.
Goals from Jassim Yaqoob Al Balooshi and Omar Juma guided Al Nasr to secure a 2-0 home win over Ajman. Balooshi broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when he turned Jandir Breno Souza’s low cross into the back of Ali Al Hosani’s net with a brilliant right-footed effort.
Omar Juma sealed the victory in the stoppage time of the second half when he met Ryan Mendes’ cross from the let with a clinical finish from close range.
Cheickna Doumbia struck late in the 86th minute to earn Shabab Al Ahli a 2-1 win over newly promoted Dibba at Dibba Stadium on Friday.
The hosts needed 45 minutes to open the scoring when Joey Sleegers swung in a brilliant cross from a free-kick to Aleksandar Scekic on the edge of the six-yard box, and the Montenegrin defender met it with a powerful header into the back of the net.
Yuri Cesar restored parity for the visitors ater he fired a ferocious long-range strike into the top right corner of Humaid Abdulla’s net.
Doumbia picked up the ball inside the penalty area and sloted the ball into the back of the net with a smart finish to seal the victory in the 86th minute.