Sharjah maintain perfect start; Trawally helps Ajman pip Al Wasl

Igor Coronado scored twice and assisted once as Sharjah came back from behind to defeat Al Ain 3-2 at Sharjah Stadium in matchweek 3 of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday.

The game started with a bang, as Sharjah were awarded a penalty kick after Coronado got pulled down inside the box. The Italian sent the ball home from the spot to put his side 1-0 up in the 11th minute.

After conceding an early goal, the Boss tried to push forward to level things up and they eventually did. Four minutes before halftime, Mohamed Abdelrahman released Bandar Al Ahbabi with a defense-splitting through pass that the UAE international finished with composure into the back of Adel Al Hosani’s net.

The guests kept the momentum alive in the second half and took the lead just seven minutes after the restart. The ball fell to Mohamed Shakir inside the box after a poorly cleared corner kick from Hosani. The 22-year-old defender headed the ball to Laba Kodjo, who converted past the keeper from a close range.

It wasn’t until the 83rd minute when Sharjah leveled the score. Coronado was once again at the heart of attack for the King, as he smashed the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, following a well-played one-two pass with Tareq Al Khaddeim.

Saleem Sultan, who came on to replace Saleem Abdulrahman in the 69th minute, snatched the full three points for Sharjah in the first minute of injury time. The 26-year-old sent Coronado’s accurately crossed freekick past Al Hosani with a powerful flying header to make it 3-2.

Sharjah top the league table with the full mark after three games. They sit two points above second-placed Shabab Al Ahli who drew with Al Jazira on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bobker Trawally’s first-half goal made the difference as Ajman defeated Al Wasl 1-0 at Rashid Bin Saed on Friday.

Ajman suffered a huge blow in the early stages of the game, as they were reduced to 10 men, after Mohamed Ahmed was shown a direct red card after his poor challenge on Fabio De Lima in the 13th minute.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Oranges broke the deadlock just eight minutes later, when Vander Vieira sent a short pass to Bobker Trawally near the edge of the box. The Gambian drilled the ball into the bottom corner after a tricky feint to make it 1-0.

The Cheetahs pushed forward and tried to capitalize on their numerical advantage and around the one-hour mark, Ahmed Al Ebri sent and in-swinging crossed corner kick inside Ajman’s box, however, Lima’s header went just wide off target.

In the 80th minute, the hosts nearly doubled the scoreline when Viera went up the right flank and sent a ground cross towards Husain Abdulrahman, whose low strike was brilliantly denied by Mohamed Al Bairaq.

Al Wasl wasted a glorious chance to score the leveler in dying moments of the game, when Haboosh Saleh’s volleyed shot was tipped acrobatically by Ali Mohamed after it changed direction following a deflection off Ajman’s defender. Ajman are now third with seven points and will next face Al Dhafra while Al Wasl occupy the 13th position with one point.

Fernando Gabriel netted late to hand Fujairah a 2-1 win over Khorfakkan.

Khorfakkan needed only four minutes to take the lead through Robson. The Brazilian defender found Bismark Ferreira’s cross inside the box and headed the ball into the right corner of the net to give his side a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the first half, Antonio Junior missed a chance to double Khorfakkan’s lead as his powerful effort went inches wide.

Just two minutes after the half-hour mark, Fujairah were awarded a penalty after Salim Saif Al Rawahi was fouled inside the box. Fernando Gabriel converted from the spot into the bottom right corner of the net to level the scoreline.

Ten minutes after the break, Fujairah missed a chance to take the lead. William Jebor’s inch-perfect pass found Humaid Abbas in front of the box but the latter’s effort went above the bar.

Khorfakkan continued to pose threat on Fujairah’s goal but Bismark Ferreira’s powerful effort was saved by Abdulla Al Tamimi who diverted it into a corner.

As the game seemed to be headed to a draw, Fujairah snatched the three points thanks to a late free-kick from Gabriel.

Ittihad Kalba suffered their third loss in a row as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Hatta at Hamdan Bin Rashid Stadium. Only three minutes into the game, Yaseen Al Bakhit missed an easy chance to put the hosts 1-0 up as his effort went wide after a one-on-one situation with the Hatta keeper.