Ajman came from behind to claim an impressive 3-2 victory over Al Ain at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in gameweek two of the ADIB Cup on Friday.
The result secured a second successive win for Ajman, who had opened their campaign with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Sharjah.
Al Ain made the brighter start and took the lead after 23 minutes through Yahya Bin Khaliq.
Matias Palacios delivered a precise cross into the penalty area, where the unmarked Bin Khaliq rose highest to power a header into the back of the net.
Ajman responded just 10 minutes later in spectacular fashion. Ismail Moumene unleashed a thunderous strike from a distance that gave the goalkeeper no chance, restoring parity and shifting the momentum of the contest.
The visitors completed the turnaround five minutes after the restart.
Jobson Santos’ effort was parried by Al Ain goalkeeper, but Lourency Do reacted quickest to the loose ball and poked home the rebound to put Ajman 2-1 ahead.
Ajman struck again just a minute later as Al Ain’s defence was caught out by a perfectly timed counterattack.
Waleed Azaro released Saad El Hadani with a pinpoint through-ball, allowing him to beat the offside trap, race clear and calmly slot beyond the goalkeeper to establish a two-goal cushion.
Al Ain pushed forward in search of a response and were rewarded four minutes from time.
A flowing attacking move ended with Houssien Rahimi finding space before firing an unstoppable effort into the net to reduce the deficit and set up a tense finish.
Ajman, however, held firm in the closing stages to secure another valuable victory and maintain their perfect start to the competition.
The visitors’ clinical finishing proved decisive, particularly during a devastating spell immediately after half-time when two goals in quick succession turned the match firmly in their favour.
Al Ain, meanwhile, were left to reflect on a second consecutive defeat despite showing attacking threat and finding the net twice. Al Ain will look to secure their first victory of the campaign when they face Kalba on Oct.8, while Ajman will target a third straight win when they take on Bani Yas on Oct.9.
Al Wasl Thrash Kalba 4-0: Al Wasl produced a ruthless second-half display to cruise to a commanding 4-0 victory over Kalba at the Zabeel Stadium.
The victory made it two wins from two for Al Wasl, who followed up their thrilling 3-2 opening-round success over Al Ain with another impressive performance.
After a goalless first half, Al Wasl returned from the interval with far greater intensity and needed just four minutes to break the deadlock.
A devastating counterattack opened up the Kalba defence before Sergio Pereira squared the ball into the path of Renato Junior, who kept his composure to finish clinically and give the hosts the lead.
Al Wasl needed only three more minutes to double their advantage.
Siaka Sidibe collected possession outside the penalty area, skipped beyond his marker and threaded a perfectly weighted pass through to Brahian Palacios. The winger did the rest, guiding a superb low effort into the far corner beyond the helpless goalkeeper.
The quickfire double completely shifted the momentum in Al Wasl’s favour. Kalba struggled to deal with the hosts’ pace in transition, while Al Wasl continued to exploit the spaces opening up behind their defensive line.
The third arrived in the 83rd minute through Leandro Spadacio Leite, who controlled the ball inside the area before drilling a low strike into the bottom-left corner to put the result beyond doubt.
There was still time for another. With one minute of regulation time remaining, Matheus Saldanha timed his run perfectly to latch onto an excellent pass from Pereira, beat the offside trap and calmly finish past the goalkeeper to complete the 4-0 rout.