(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Rashid Mohammad Omer saved Al Nasr the blushes with an 88th minute goal to help The Blues rally from a goal down against second-from-bottom Hatta and emerge 2-1 winners in the Arabian Gulf League match at the Shabab Al Ahli Stadium in Al Awir on Friday.
With only three matches to go, the win has come as a booster for Al Nasr as it pushed them to third in the standings.
In another match played at the Fujairah Stadium, an 89th minute goal by Walid Abbas Murad ensured Shabab Al Ahli pulled off a solitary goal win over Dibba.
Shabab with 27 points have moved to fifth in the placings, above Al Jazira (25). Dibba remain fourth from bottom with 18 points.
Al Nasr were in control of the game but somehow when they reached the Hatta box they ran out of ideas, a couple of crosses going abegging.
And, Hatta made The Blues pay for it when they struck first blood in the 15th minute. Mahmood Qassim floated the ball into the Nasr box and Omro Almidani leapt high, with two defenders marking him, to nod home past a diving goalkeeper Ahmed Shambih.
But Al Nasr were not to be denied the equaliser. In the 38th minute Rashid Mohammad Omer lobbed the ball into the box. There was a scramble between players when they went for the header and slowly the ball rolled to an unmarked Marcelo Cirino Da Silva whose half volley was not well connected but it did manage to find its way under goalkeeper Abdullah Alqamish's body and into goal.
Hatta threatened to go ahead again. In the 52nd minute, Ali Darwish's long ball saw Maher Jassem connect a superb volley but Ahmed Shambih was alert in the goal, diving to his right to collect it.
With both teams looking listless and with 20 minutes to go for the final whistle, Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic tried to infuse life by sending in Abdelaziz Barrada for Mohammad Sarwashi.
Hatta too made a change immediately when Mohamed Mallala came in for Lahej Saleh.
With 15 minutes to go Al Nasr had their best chance of going ahead. Tariq Ahmed crossed from the right and Joan Oumari headed goalwards only for Alqamish to parry it away from close distance.
Then came the winner against the run of play when Rashid Mohammad Omer's innocuous cross went into the Hatta goal leaving the defenders and Alqamish dumbfounded.
Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic gave credit to Hatta for putting up a good fight. "It was a difficult game. Hatta missed some players. They don't deserve to be in this position in the league. They are a good side. I wish they stay in the league," said the Serbian.
For Abdulmajeed Al Nemr, the new manager at Hatta, it's an uphill task.
"We missed some key players but we still played well in the first half. However, the result in the second half fails to do justice to the way we played.
"With three games remaining our mission is hard now to try and avoid relegation," Al Nemr admitted.
MENAFN1703201800490000ID1096606187
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.