Away Wins Put Al Ain and Al Wahda on Path to UAE's ADIB Cup Final

Al Ain vs Al Nasr

Al Ain moved a step closer to the ADIB Cup final with a 3-0 victory away to Al Nasr in the first leg of the semi-finals, played at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai. Sufian Rahimi opened the scoring in the 49th minute, followed by Laba Kodjo in the 67th and Rafael Vila in the 75th. The game also featured a notable moment when Kodjo’s penalty was saved, but the referee ordered a retake after the keeper moved early, and Kodjo converted on the retake for the 3-0 result. Earlier, Balasios spurned a promising chance in the 20th minute, and in the 42nd minute two bookings were shown in quick succession before Luka Milivojevic was sent off for dissent, leaving Al Nasr with ten men for the second half.

Al Wahda vs Al Jazira

In the Abu Dhabi derby, Al Wahda defeated Al Jazira 3-0 at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. Radja Gandibor struck twice, in the 11th and 41st minutes, and Dusан Tadich added the third in the 55th. Al Jazira did threaten early on, with Vinicius testing Wahda’s defense and Nabyl Fekir’s 21st-minute penalty saved by Zahid Hamadi. Gandibor’s second early in the second half sealed the win, leaving the return leg with a challenging task for the hosts as they seek a comeback in the next round.

Punchline 1: If football were a sniper duel, these finishes were headshots—clean, precise, and over before you blink.

Punchline 2: The defense clearly left its night-vision goggles at home; tonight’s attackers didn’t miss a beat.