Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain made a positive start to their 2015/16 campaign, easing to a 3-1 win over Al Dhafra at the Hazza bin Zayed stadium.
Two goals in two first-half minutes swung the match in the Garden City side’s favour. Lee Myung-joo tapped in from close range on 27 minutes after Fellipe Bastos and Ryan Babel each saw their efforts saved, and Emirati striker Saeed Al Kathiri doubled the lead two minutes later with a fine finish.
Substitute Rashid Essa put the three points beyond doubt for the hosts, scoring four minutes from full time, though Hamad Ali pulled one goal back for Dahfra in stoppage time.
Al Ain were without Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike, who was a doubt for the match after he tweaked a thigh muscle while scoring his second goal in the 4-2 Arabian Gulf Super Cup victory over Al Nasr last week. His AGL debut will have to wait until after the international break.
Elsewhere, Al Shabab opened their season with a 2-1 win over Sharjah in Dubai. Henrique Luvannor scored from distance after 10 minutes to put the hosts in front, and Carlos Villanueva made the score 2-0 after 67 minutes.
Sharjah’s evening got worse in the 74th as Shaheen Abdulrahman was sent off for a second yellow card. Abdulrahman tied for the AGL lead in yellow cards last season with eight and was joint-second with two red cards. A late penalty by Wanderley amounted to consolation for Sharjah.
Luis Jimenez quickly proved his worth in his first league game with Al Nasr, scoring twice in the second half to lead his side to a 2-1 home win over Emirates. Haider Ali put the visitors 1-0 up just before half time, only for Jimenez to haul Nasr back in front.
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