Video: Sharjah win first Arabian Gulf League title in 23 years

Sharjah won its first UAE football league title (Arabian Gulf League) in 23 years after beating Al Wahda 3-2 at Sharjah Stadium on Wednesday.

The last time Sharjah won the league was in 1995-1996, and it was their fifth.

Sharjah’s Igor Corondao (30’, 57’) and Welliton Suarez (46’), and Al Wahda’s Leonardo da Silva (40’) and Sebastian Tagliabue (76’) scored the goals.

Sharjah sealed the Arabian Gulf League title after earning a tough 3-2 win over Al Wahda in the penultimate matchweek of the campaign at Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium.

The first chance of the game fell to Sharjah’s Omar Juma who went in a one-on-one situation with Al Wahda keeper Mohamed Alshamsi but failed to get past him.

Crowds celebrate Sharjah's victory.

The King continued to threaten the guests and eventually took the lead on the half-hour mark. Igor Coronado opened the scoring for the hosts as he headed home Juma’s cross to put his side 1-0 up.

Soon after, Adel Alhosani pulled off a brilliant save to deny Leonardo de Souza from netting the equalizer.

Five minutes from the break, Leonardo de Souza leveled up the scoreline. Alhosani saved the initial attempt before the Brazilian midfielder latched onto the rebound and fired home.

The Clarets came close to taking the lead before the break but Khalil Ibrahim’s effort hit the woodwork as they headed into halftime tied on 1-1

The King got off to a fiery start to the second half as Welliton regained their lead only one minute after the restart. The Brazilian forward dribbled past Al Shamsi before tapping the ball into the empty net.

Sharjah soon went 3-0 up as Coronado netted his second of the night in the 57th minute. The Brazilian dribbled past Al Wahda’s defenders inside the box before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner to further extend Sharjah’s lead and put them a step closer to the title. 

Fireworks light up the Sharjah sky after the victory.

With 15 minutes to go, Sebastian Tagliabue headed the ball past Alhosani off Khalil Alhammadi’s cross to reduce the deficit. This marked his 26th goal of the season.

Al Wahda came close to netting the equalizer two minutes from time but Leonardo de Souza's effort went wide as the King sealed the title with one game to spare.

They top the table on 56 points, three above second-placed Shabab Al Ahli. This marked Sharjah's sixth league title in their history, with their last victory coming in the 1995-96 season.

Elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf League, Shabab Al Ahli earned an easy 4-1 win over Bani Yas. Micheal Ortega opened the scoring for the Sky Blues before Shabab Al Ahli responded with four goals from Mohammad Sebil, Mauro Diaz, Jaime Ayovi and Luvannor Henrique.

Shabab Al Ahli sit second on 53 points, while Bani Yas remain frozen on 39 points in sixth place.