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Dubai: Leaders Al Shabab fought hard at home to snatch three points from Al Nasr - the most developed team in this etisalat First Division Football League - on Monday night.
Al Shabab snatched the win in injury time by substitute Surour Salim who scored the most valuable goal for his team to secure a 2-1 victory.
The Al Shabab supporters went wild with joy and could not believe that their team had won the match, after Al Nasr dominated all 90 minutes and lost several scoring opportunities - with the post and cross-bar coming in the way.
Qadhi Muroshid, the Al Nasr Club board chairman, was not satisfied with the referee's decisions. "According to what we saw from the referees in our last matches, I will ask the FA to invite referees from outside to officiate the league matches," said the Al Nasr board chairman.
Muroshid claimed the match referee had assaulted the Al Nasr coach, Luka Bonacic, at half time near the dressing room.
"This is the first time I have seen a referee assaulting a coach and shouting at him. If the coach committed mistakes, the referee should show him the red card and not shout at him as we saw."
He expressed satisfaction with his team's performance. "I am proud of my team. They showed an excellent performance and could have won the three points, but the referee's decisions and bad luck denied them victory."
Wide gap
Al Shabab's win widened the gap with second-placed Al Jazira to four points. The latter failed to beat Al Ahli at home, where they could only manage one point. Al Shabab have 32 points, while Al Jazira have 28. Al Jazira, like every other season, began powerfully and became top contenders to win the league title. However, they suffered reversals in the home stretch and were knocked out of contention.
Meanwhile, Sharjah crushed neighbours Al Shaab 4-1 in the Sharjah Derby to jump to third place with 28 points along with Al Jazira who are second on a goal difference. Sharjah will be a big threat to Al Shabab in the title hunt in the coming weeks. The defeat pushed Al Shaab further out of the title race with a six-point gap between them and the league leaders.
Newcomers Al Dhafra beat Al Wahda for the second time this season to enter safe waters, away from the relegation zone. The Abu Dhabi west region club defeated Al Wahda 3-2 and raised their tally to 18 points.
Al Wahda are in 10th place with 13 points. They have to work hard in their six remaining matches to escape relegation.
Hatta continued their poor results at home, losing to Al Ain 1-0. Hatta have never won a match at home since they were promoted to the First Division.
Emirates stayed at the bottom with 11 points after they were defeated by Al Wasl 4-1. Defending champions Al Wasl returned to their winning ways after two defeats in the Asian Champions League.
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