Al Ain ease past Sitra in Gulf opener

Emirati club run riot with 3 unanswered goals

Bahrain’s Sitra suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to UAE’s Al Ain on Tuesday evening in their opening Group A match of the Gulf Club Champions League. The reigning champions, Al Ain, took an early own-goal lead but went on to assert their authority with a dominant second half.

Al Ain Pull Away

Al Ain opened the scoring in unusual fashion when Sitra’s Ibrahim Jamal inadvertently turned Hussain Rahimi’s pressured effort into his own net. Sitra responded through Carlos, who equalized after a rebound from a series of headers and one effort hitting the bar. The goal was initially ruled out for offside but was awarded following a VAR review, making it 1-1.

Al Ain regained the lead after Rilwanu Sarki made a darting run down the right wing and delivered a precise low pass that found the Nigerian. Lucas De Lima made it 3-1 with a beautiful ball over the top from Hussain Rahimi. He controlled it with a bouncing low header and tapped it in as Sitra goalkeeper Yousif Habib came out charging and fullback Vincent Emmanuel could not intervene.

The match was sealed in stoppage time as Rilwanu Sarki scored Al Ain’s fourth on a counter-attack, capitalizing on a careless midfield turnover by Sitra.

Next Up

Sitra will now regroup for their next fixture against Zakho of Iraq on 22 October in Bahrain, followed by a home fixture against Kuwaiti side Qadsia on 4 November. The Gulf champions Al Ain will maintain their focus on the group stage as they look to defend their title.