Fabio de Lima’s second-half goal earned Al Wasl of the UAE their first AFC Champions League win in 11 years in a 1-0 triumph over Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr on Monday.
The Emirati side had finished bottom of their group with no points last year in what was their first continental appearance since 2008.
The hosts created the first chance of the match eight minutes in, when Khamis Esmaeel supplied a perfectly weighted through pass for Fabio de Lima who advanced into the box but fired high.
Laurentiu Reghecampf’s men suffered a blow when captain Caio Canedo hobbled off with a hamstring injury midway through the first half.
Youngster Abdulla Kazim was introduced in his place.Right-back Salem Al Azizi dribbled deep into Al Nassr’s box and unleashed a powerful drive from a tight angle, but Australian goalkeeper Brad Jones parried it away.
Esmaeel and Lima both tried their luck from outside the box in the final ten minutes of the first half, but both their efforts missed the target.
Al Nassr were made to wait until the last minute to get their first sight of goal, and they nearly made it count.
Abdulrahman Al Obaid’s cross from a free-kick was met by Abderazak Hamdallah’s powerful header which needed both goalkeeper Humaid Abdullah and the crossbar to interfere and stop it from going in and send the sides into the break level.
The Saudi side looked to press higher up as the action resumed, and it was Hamdallah who had the first chance of the second half. Yahya Al Shehri intercepted and sent him through, but the Moroccan fired wide from close range.
Al Wasl’s big break came at the hour mark as striker Yousef Ahmed sneaked in between Al Nassr’s centre-backs before Abdullah Madu brought him down inside the box.
Lime stepped up to take the resulting spot kick and composedly drove home the winning goal to the joy of the Emirati crowd at Zabeel Stadium.
Despite Hamdallah and Giuliano’s best efforts for the remainder of the second half, Al Wasl remained resilient and defended their lead until the final whistle.
Al Wasl travel to Iraq next where they face Al Zawraa, while Al Nassr stay in Dubai for their matchday two encounter against Zobahan.
