Sharjah pip Al Wahda; Al Dhafra hold Al Jazira

SHARJAH: Shahin Abdulrahman netted a late winner to hand Sharjah a 2-1 win over Al Wahda at Sharjah Stadium in matchweek 2 of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday.

Sharjah controlled the possession in the early minutes of the game but without creating real goalscoring chances.

It was Al Wahda, however, who opened the scoring through Tim Matavz on the half-hour mark. A long pass from Tahnoon Al Zaabi found the Slovenian forward, who went one-on-one with the keeper before slotting home.

Matavz missed a chance to double the scoreline five minutes before the break, after he received a pass from the right side, but his shot missed the target.

Al Wahda continued to pose threat on Sharjah’s goal and missed an opportunity to take a 2-0 lead into halftime, when Fares Juma’s header hit the woodwork in injury time.

Sharjah leveled the scoreline in the 68th minute, thanks to a goal from Welliton Soares. Khalid Ibrahim received a cross on the right side, before dribbling past the Al Wahda defense and crossing an inch-perfect ball to the Brazilian forward who fired home.

Five minutes from time, Ismail Matar went one-on-one with Sharjah keeper but was intercepted by the defense as his shot went over the bar.

Just when the game seemed to be headed to a 1-1 draw, Shahin netted what turned out to be the winner for Sharjah as he headed the ball into the back of the net off Caio Fernandes’ corner kick in the 89th minute.

The King now have six points, while the Clarets remain on three points. Sharjah will next travel to face Al Ain and Al Wahda will host Shabab Al Ahli.

Al Jazira and Al Dhafra played out a 1-1 draw at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium on Friday.

Al Dhafra almost scored the first goal of the match in the 15th minute when Yaseen Bakheet had a one-on-one with Abulrahman Alameri but it was intercepted by Al Jazira’s defender in the last moment.

In the 27th minute, Abdalla Ramadan made a long pass to Khalfan Mubarak who sent the ball into Khaled Al Senaani’s net making the score 1-0 to the Pride of Abu Dhabi.

However, things didn’t stay great for long for Al Jazira. In the 37th minute, Salim Rashid was sent off after his second bookable offense, leaving his side with only ten players in the field.

In the 56th minute, Ali Mabkhout dribbled through Al Dhafra’s defense and almost scored the second goal for Al Jazira but Al Senaani was there to save it.

Al Dhafra managed to score the equalizer by Bakheet in the 82nd minute, when they were awarded a penalty and he converted from the spot.

In the minutes leading up to the end of the game, Al Dhafra suffered a blow after Issam El Adoua was sent off. Deep into injury time, Benjamin Ayim was also sent off leaving Al Dhafra with only 9 players.

In another match, a late goal from Habib Al Fardan handed Al Nasr a tough 1-0 win over Khorfakkan.

Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi Stadium.

In the eighth minute, Ryan Mendes’ powerful header hit the post after an outstanding cross from Mohamed Fawzi bringing the Blues closer to scoring.

The Eagles had an exceptional chance in the 31st minute against Al Nasr, when Raphael Guimaraes intercepted the ball from the Blues’ defense and almost scored it but Ahmed Shambih saved it at the last second.

In the 60th minute, Brandley Kuwas made a short pass to Diaa Saba who then passed it to Antonio Carvalho who shot it just beside the net.

Mahmoud Khamis made an astonishing pass to Habib Al Fardan who easily put the ball into the net in the 82nd minute bringing the score up to 1-0 for the Blues.