Shabab Al Ahli beat Khorfakkan in AGC quarter-final first leg

Shabab Al Ahli earned a valuable 4-2 away from home win over Khorfakkan at Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi Stadium in the first leg of the 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.

The guests got off to a strong start, as Ahmed Al Attas opened the scoring in the 12th minute following a perfect pass from Carlos Eduardo inside the box. Shabab Al Ahli made it 2-0 only seven minutes later, when Heldon Ramos headed the ball past Khorfakkan keeper to further extend the guests’ lead.

Carlos Eduardo then turned from provider to scorer in the 42nd minute, as he netted a header to hand his side a 3-0 lead ahead of halftime.

The guests were forced to continue the game with 10 men after Abdulaziz Haikal was sent off in the 67th minute for violent conduct against Juninho.

Ten minutes from time, Khorfakkan reduced the deficit thanks to a long-range effort from Bruno Lamas that left Shabab Al Ahli keeper helpless. Shabab Al Ahli’s Mohammed Marzooq then mistakenly scored an own goal three minutes later to make it 3-2. However, Shabab Al Ahli extended their lead once more after they were awarded a penalty that was converted by Federico Cartabia in the 88th minute.

Khorfakkan’s goal scorer Lamas was shown a straight red card deep into the injury time, as Shabab Al Ahli emerged 4-2 victorious and will now be looking to seal their semi-final spot when they face Khorfakkan in the second leg at Rashid Stadium on Jan.25.

Al wasl coach Odair Hellmann predicted a tough match against Sharjah

“The match will be strong and its result will determine the identity of the team that will qualify to the next round, by 50 per cent, pointing out the need to prepare and train strongly to achieve a result Positive assists the team in the second leg at Za’abeel Stadium,” said Hellmann.

“Any tournament in which a team as big as Al Wasl participates, whose goal is to be crowned champion. I want to achieve success for the club and will be a great addition to my cv as a coach,” he added.

He also ruled out Neris for the important clash, informing about his injury.

“We will be missing the of the Brazilian defender Neris, for quite some time. This is the reality. I cannot hide this fact, but our goal is clear to continue to provide good performance, play with a high spirit, and win against any team,” he informed.

George Dwubeng affirmed that Al Wasl are putting up good performance in the recent matches. They have lost some games despite being the better team in the match. But that is the part and parcel of the game.

“We must continue to improve and we will surely reap the results of our diligence in the end,” said Dwubeng. He pointed out that the Sharjah match is always strong, especially at their stadium, but Al Wasl aspire to achieve a good result that will facilitate the team’s mission in Za’abeel.

Sharjah Abdulaziz Al Anbari also described the quarter-final against Al Wasl as a tough match.

“The tournament is important for us and we seek to appear in it well. It is more challenging as the loser has to exit the tournament in the new format unlike before.

It needs focus from the players, and our players are in well focused.

Anbari stressed the need to equip the largest number of players with attendance in all tournaments and said: “We are looking to give the chance to the players, who do get many opportunities to play in the big matches.

And he continued: “This tournament is an opportunity to give them a chance and I have great confidence my team,” he added.

 Sharjah striker Mohammed Khalfan described the preparations for the match as good and said, “We as players are well prepared for the clash and we know it is difficulty against a strong competitor such as Al Wasl team, and we play to win the match to boost our chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.”  

And he added, “Al Wasl despite their poor start, but in recent matches he showed good performance.