UAE Pro League:
Qayedi at the double as Al Nasr edges Majidi’s Al Bataeh
Iranian international winger Mahdi Qayedi scored twice against his former coach Farhad Majidi to help Al Nasr beat 10-man Al Bataeh 3-2 in the UAE ADNOC Pro League on Sunday.
Al Bataeh started the home game brightly, with Anatole Bertrand testing the Al Nasr goalkeeper twice in the opening 21 minutes, but the early pressure failed to produce a breakthrough.
The match turned on its head in the 34th minute when Al Bataeh goalkeeper Ibrahim Essa Al Balooshi was shown a straight red card for fouling Qayedi as the forward raced clear on goal.
The breakthrough arrived shortly after the restart, as Qayedi sprinted onto Luka Milivojevic’s perfectly weighted pass and finished confidently to give Al Nasr the lead.
Al Bataeh showed real character and were rewarded in the 72nd minute when Bertrand capitalised on a goalkeeping error to bring the hosts level.
The response was immediate. Just 60 seconds later, Qayedi struck again, drilling a low effort from outside the area to put Al Nasr back in front.
Majidi’s men refused to go away and stunned the visitors once more as Bertrand produced a sensational bicycle kick from close range to make it 2-2.
With the match heading towards a draw, Al Nasr found a decisive moment in the 90th minute as Malian Cheickna Doumbia timed his run to perfection, latched onto Moussa Ndiaye’s through ball and finished calmly to complete a dramatic win.
A fourth win in nine games saw the visitors jump to sixth in the table on 14 points — nine adrift of league leaders Al Ain.
Meanwhile, a seventh defeat of the campaign left Al Bataeh struggling in 12th place of the 14-team standings with six points — two above the relegation zone.