The match got off to a subdued start with both teams taking their time to find their footing and it wasn’t until the 19th minute that the first attempt was made with Fabio Lima’s curling effort from outside the box palmed away by Ahmad Erbash.

Al Wehdat responded with a shot on target of their own seven minutes later after Al-Mandhar Alalawi fired from an acute angle, with Al Wasl custodian Khaled Aljneibi taking the full force of the ball on his face.

Out of nothing, Al Wasl were handed a chance to break the deadlock in the 38th minute after Erbash was deemed to have picked up the ball after releasing it from his grasp, with Lima firing home the close range indirect free-kick.

Al Wasl custodian Aljneibi produced a great stop to deny Mohammad Almawaly’s first-time shot two minutes later as the visitors went into the break with the advantage.

The Emirati side nearly found a second goal nine minutes after the interval through Lima’s swerving shot from distance but this time, Erbash was up to the task to push the ball away.

Al Wasl weren’t to be denied in the 63rd minute when Matheus Saldanha - who had replaced Serginho seven minutes prior - curled a spectacular long range effort away from Erbash into the top corner.

Al Wehdat’s persistence saw them pulling a goal back through Junior Ajayi’s header deep into stoppage time but it was too little too late to change the outcome.

Next up for Al Wasl is a crucial double header against an equally impressive Al Muharraq SC side with the first meeting taking place on October 22.