Joao Pedro cancelled out Peniel Mlapa’s opener, as Bani Yas played out a 1-1 draw with Ittihad Kalba at Bani Yas Stadium in the first leg of Arabian Gulf Cup quarter-final, which is held under the name of "Mohammed Bin Rashid", in celebration of the 15th anniversary of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as the head of the UAE Government.
Bani Yas looked more dangerous in the opening minutes of the game, however, Kalba goalkeeper Yousif Al Zaabi pulled off a good save to deny Nicolás Giménez. Kalba then tried their luck through Mlapa, but his effort was weak and posed no threat on Bani Yas' goal.
Kalba didn’t open the scoring until the 57th minute when Mlapa headed the ball home to hand the guests a 1-0 lead.
Bani Yas levelled the scoreline in a similar manner with a Joao Pedro header 20 minutes from time. Kalba were reduced to 10 men two minutes from time when Fahad Sabeel was shown a red card, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Kalba will have a slight advantage when they host Bani Yas at home in the second leg of the quarter-final on January 25th.
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