Bani Yas edge past Al Wahda

Bani Yas advanced to a dream line up against holders Al Jazira in the final of the President’s Cup following their impressive 3-1 victory over Abu Dhabi giants Al Wahda in the semis of the prestigious competition at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium here on Sunday night. Al Wahda led 1-0 at half-time. Brazilian midfielder Hugo fired home the first goal with a close range shot in the 40th minute of the first half, but Yeste restored hope for Bani Yas after the Spanish matador netted the equaliser from a free kick two minutes before the final whistle and forced the issue into extra-time. African-import Andre Senghore struck twice for Bani Yas in the 102nd and 119th minutes to lead Bani Yas to the final of the 2012 edition of the tournament against defending champions Al Jazira scheduled at Zayed Sports City on April 23. “I would like to congratulate Bani Yas. We missed many scoring opportunities and our opponents did nothing wrong when it mattered,” Al Wahda Austrian coach Josef Hickersberger said. Bani Yas’s Argentine coach Calderon said they won the game because they were the better side on the pitch. “We managed to make a strong come back to the game in the dying minutes of regular time because it was unfair to lose a game which we should win,” he said. Bani Yas midfielder Nawaf Mubarak said in a post match conversation that the success deserved it and represented a true translation of the hard work by the club’s management, technical staff and players. “The time has come to delight our fans for the second time. We have come from behind and the last two minutes of the regular time made all the difference,” he added. Al Wahda and UAE football ace Ismail Matar is of the opinion that in football there are winners and losers. “We were beaten by a better side,” he said. “We scored first and maintained our lead to the last two minutes, but Yeste’s late strike brought our opponents back to the game and they managed to score in extra-time and won. Let’s wish them all the best in the final,” he added.