AFC Cup MD5: Al Nahda 0-0 Al Wahda

Al Wahda remain in second place in the group on eight points, two adrift of leaders Al Wehdat, who stretched their advantage with a 3-0 win over Salam Zgharta earlier in the day. 

Oman's Al Nahda are in third place in the group, still one point behind Al Wahda leaving all but the Lebanese side in contention for a place in the knockout phase of the competition. 

“The result is good for us as we avoided defeat and our last match against Salam Zgharta will be easier for us compared to the other match between Al Wehdat and Al Nahda and hopefully we can get a victory in order to qualify from the group,” said Al Wahda coach Mohamed Shabrak. 

“Al Nahda knew that we are a strong team and they tried their best not to leave any open spaces which affected the performance in the match. In the second half, things improved but their general performance tonight was defensive as they were trying to avoid defeat.” 

Al Wahda had the better of a tense encounter, but Al Nahda could have pinched all three points late in the game only for Ely Cheikh Samba El Voullany’s weak shot to trundle harmlessly wide after he was released on a rapid counterattack by Mohammed Al Shamsi seven minutes from time. 

Al Nahda coach Bernardo Tavares was also satisfied with the draw, although he knows his team need to win against group leaders Al Wehdat to have any realistic hope of progressing. 

“The result was good for us although we were hoping to a better result,” said the Portuguese coach. “We struggled in the first half as our opponents played with a defensive performance and didn't give us the chance to create any scoring opportunities. 

“I think in the early minutes of the second half we were good but afterwards, our opponents managed to defend well and get away with a point. We failed to score and at the end of the night we settled for a draw.”

Photo: WSG