Sharjah pip Fujairah; Al Nasr, Al Wahda post wins

Yasser Salem scored a late own goal to gift Sharjah a hard-fought 2-1 win against Fujairah at Sharjah Stadium in matchweek 6 of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday.

The game started with a bang as Sharjah took the lead in the 11th minute through Ricardo Gomes who converted Igor Coronado’s out-swinging cross with a powerful header past Abdulla Al Tamimi.

Coronado was once again at heart of attack for the King, when he stepped up for a freekick near the edge of the box, however, his right footed effort cannoned off the crossbar.

In the 29th minute, Fujairah suffered a huge blow as they were reduced to ten men after Abdulla Saleh was sent for an early shower following his careless sliding tackle on Gomes.

In the final moments of the first half, Fujairah were awarded a penalty kick after Jhonnattann Benites was brought down inside the box by Adel Al Hosani. Fernando Gabriel sent the ball home from the spot to level things up before the halftime whistle.

Around the one-hour mark, the Wolves nearly took the lead when Gabriel found Ahmed Daruwaish with a brilliantly cross corner kick, however, the latter’s header was denied by Al Hosani’s right post.

In the 84th minute, Sharjah finally managed to capitalize on their numerical advantage, when Ryan Mendes dribbled up the right flank and sent a powerful low cross inside the box that was converted by Yasser Salem in the back of his own net.

After the win, Sharjah extended their unbeaten run to six games as they top the league table with 16 points ahead of their anticipated encounter against Al Jazira next week. Meanwhile, Fujairah suffered their third consecutive defeat to sit 12th with just six point before hosting Hatta next week.

Al Wasl continued their positive run of results with a 3-1 victory over Hatta at Zabeel Stadium.

Meanwhile, Alvaro Negredo’s penalty was the difference as Al Nasr continued their resurgence with a 1-0 victory over Khorfakkan at Ittihad Kalba Stadium on Friday.

Elsewhere, Carlitos bagged a brace as Al Wahda defeated Al Dhafra 2-1 at Al Nahyan Stadium.

Earlier, the Blues dominated possession throughout the opening half, but Khorfakkan were able to limit them to chances few and far between. Mahmoud Khamis was Al Nasr’s biggest attacking outlets as the left-back romped up the left flank frequently.

Al Nasr came close to breaking the deadlock eight minutes after the restart when Brandley Kuwas’ cross from the right was headed on by Toze, but the midfielder’s header was saved by goalkeeper Mohammed Yousef.

Negredo stepped up and slotted from the penalty spot after Kuwas was brought down in the box 15 minutes from time. The Spaniard’s strike proved to be the only goal of the night.

The Blues are now up to fifth place with ten points, while Khorfakkan are bottom of the table with two points.

The Clarets got off to a quick start, as they took the lead just six minutes into the game. Sebastian Tagliabue released Mohamed Al Menhali behind Al Dhafra’s backline, the latter finished past Khaled Al Senani with a composed chip shot.