Dubai:  The new Bani Yas coach Brazilian Dominiquz Elias failed to lead his new club to victory in the Second Division League when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Orouba at the latters' ground in Fujairah.

Despite the draw, Bani Yas still have a slim hope of winning promotion to the First Division. They are in the 5th place on the table, 13 points adrift of leaders Al Khaleej who have 56 points after they defeated Diba Al Hesn 2-1.

Meanwhile, Al Ittihad of Kalba continued chasing Al Khaleej for the top place, Al Ittihad beat bottom place Al Rams 3-0 at Kalba stadium. They are second with 50 points. Ajman defeated Ras Al Khaimah 4-1 to jump to the third place with 46 points. Despite losing to Al Khaleej, Al Hesn stayed fourth with 46 points.

Fujairah clubs, Al Oroub and Fujairah, are in the 6th and 7th places, respectively, with 40 points each.

With seven matches left for each club, RAK's hopes of winning promotion suffered a blow after they lost to Ajman. RAK now have 37 points. Al Rams stayed at the bottom with 6 points, with 1 win, 3 drawn games and 19 losses.

Fixtures

Thursday: Dubai v Ajman, RAK v Masafi, Al Arabi v Al Orouba, Bani Yas v Diba Fujairah. Friday: Al Hamriya v Al Khaleej, Diba Al Hesn v Al Jazira Al Hammra, Fujairah v Al Ittihad, Al Zaid v Al Rams.