City — Ittifaq: 2:0, Division 1

City beat Ittifaq 2-0 in the third round of Division 1 on Saturday evening, taking their first victory of the campaign. The hosts sit 11th on three points while Ittifaq remain 13th, one point behind. By then both sides had played three matches and carried little momentum into this fixture.

Ittifaq started brighter, matching City in the opening exchanges. The home side grew into the game as the half wore on, but neither team could find the breakthrough before the break. To be fair, the tempo never quite reached the level expected for a clash between two teams navigating the lower reaches.

The turning point came at the 65th minute when E. Barwuah received a red card, leaving Ittifaq with ten men for the final quarter. City had waited for this shift in the balance, and when it arrived they took their chances. Anderson Junior struck at 81, and M. Beni de Dieu added a second in stoppage time at 90+3.

We had tipped an away victory at 47 per cent confidence, but the match went another way. Ittifaq lost their shape after the dismissal and could not recover the structure they had built in the first half. City held their nerve and took the points.

The result leaves City three points from safety and Ittifaq one point further down the table. Both sides have two defeats in three games, though City's win gives them something to build on. The gap between them remains narrow, and the season is still wide open.