Sharjah look to extend winning run

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Leaders Sharjah will look to carry on the winning momentum when they take on Al Wahda in their 15th round match of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Thursday.

Three matches will be played on the first day of matchweek 15, with Bani Yas meeting Fujairah and Al Nasr hosting Khorfakkan in the early kick-offs in the two other matches.

Sharjah are comfortably sitting at the top of the standing with a five-point lead over the nearest rivals Al Jaizra, who are not in action till Friday.

Sharjah coach Abdulaziz Al Anbari said: “We strive to continue achieving positive results. We have great confidence in the ability of our team, who can play a match that raises the aspirations of the fans despite the strength of the competitors, who have very good players in their line-up,” said Anbari.

“We worked with the players to rectify some of the mistakes that happened against Fujairah. The next stage requires more focus and discipline, especially on the defensive side,” he added.

Meanwhile, Al Nasr assistant coach Josep Omerchi attended the meeting on behalf of manager Kronislav Jurcic, who is ill and undergoing treatment. His attendance in the Khorfakkan match is doubtful.

“We will face Khorfakkan, who are going in good form, and will enter the match with high confidence. They are trying hard to maintain their momentum. They don’t have anything to lose that makes the games more difficult,” said Omerchi.

“All the players in the team are in the best of health and ready to participate in the next match and we do not have any absentees,” he added.

“We have not achieved satisfactory results in the recent period, despite our good form in the matches. We have failed to convert our possession into goals,” he added.

Goalkeeper Ibrahim Issa said: “Our loss in the last match against Al Jazira does not mean the end of the road. Still there is a long way to go in the league and we are still in the race to compete for all titles. We will seek to return to the winning ways with the next match.”

Meanwhile, Bani Yas coach Daniel Isaila said they would try to forget the loss against Al Wasl and rather focus on the upcoming match against Fujairah.

He described the Fujairah match as a difficult one because they are coming into the game on the back of a defeat and there are many frontline players, who are absent.

“We should not look for excuses, but work and focus on training. We know the difficulty of the situation, but our goal is always to win in every match,” said Isaila.

He added: “There are still good things. We are still in an advanced position. We are still the strongest defence in the league. We must forget the page of the past and focus on what is to come and collect points in every match we play to reach the goals we set for ourselves.”

He also apprised about the absentees due to injury or other reasons. He ruled out the participation of several big players for Fujairah match.