Al Wahda and Ajman met in the first regular season fixture of the Pro-League on Thursday evening, with the visitors taking all three points in a 2:3 victory at the home ground. The match opened with Al Wahda's Lourency finding the net in the fifth minute, giving the hosts an early advantage that would not last.
By then the game had settled into a pattern where both sides were willing to engage. V. Henrique's equaliser in the fifty-first minute shifted the momentum, and Ajman's manager would have recognised the moment as one where the tie opened up. Three substitutions followed almost immediately on the hour, a clear signal that the home side wanted to regain control.
And here's the thing about the statistics — both teams registered identical expected goals of 0.76, yet the result tells a different story. Al Wahda dominated possession at sixty per cent but created only one big chance, while Ajman managed two from forty per cent of the ball. The away side hit six shots on target compared to four, and that efficiency made the difference between a draw and a victory.
Al Wahda's recent form offered no warning of this outcome. They had drawn two of their previous five fixtures and lost two, including a narrow defeat to Al-Dhafra. Ajman, meanwhile, arrived with three wins from four matches and carried confidence into this encounter. To be fair, their defensive record had been tested — they had conceded in three of their last four games — but they showed resilience when it mattered.
The result leaves Ajman in sixth place with nine points from four matches, two points clear of Al Wahda in eighth. The visitors extended their unbeaten run to four games, while the hosts' hopes of an early top-half position took a setback. By then the match had been decided by moments rather than statistics — V. Henrique's brace and B. Diarra's late double keeping it interesting until the final whistle.