Bani Yas snatch late victory over Al Nasr; Kalba, Sharjah post wins

Fawaz Awana netted late to hand Bani Yas a valuable 3-2 victory over Al Nasr at home in matchweek 20 of the Arabian Gulf League on Friday.

Mehdi Abeid opened the scoring for Al Nasr in injury time, handing the Blues a 1-0 lead ahead of halftime. Bani Yas leveled the scoreline in the 58th minute, thanks to Joao Pedro’s equaliser.

Toze was on target as he regained Al Nasr’s lead in the 69th minute and Sultan Alshamsi netted the equalizer with only three minutes to go.

Fawaz Awana completed Bani Yas’ came when he netted the winning goal in the second minute of injury time, as the home side emerged 3-2 victorious.

Bani Yas raised their tally to 42 points as they reclaimed second place, only two points off leaders Al Jazira. Meanwhile, Al Nasr remained in fourth place with 36 points.

Kalba pip Al Dhafra: Ittihad Kalba earned a 2-1 comeback win over Al Dhafra 2-1 at Ittihad Kalba Stadium in matchweek 20 of the Arabian Gulf League on Friday.

After a quiet start to the first half, Makhete Diop capitalized on a defensive error to open the scoring for Al Dhafra in the second minute of stoppage time, handing his side a 1-0 advantage ahead of the break.

Kalba piled the pressure on the guests in the early minutes of the second half and it eventually paid off, as they levelled the scoreline in the 64th minute through Romulo Dos Santos

Al Dhafra’s Pedro Conde then scored an own goal in the 84th minute to hand the home side a 2-1 win.

Kalba raised their tally to 29 points in ninth place and Al Dhafra remained in 10th place with 20 points.

Sharjah return to winning ways: Earlier, Igor Coronado netted a super hat-trick to guide Sharjah to an emphatic 5-1 home victory over Khorfakkan on Thursday.

The home side looked determined to seal the three points from the start, hoping to end a run of disappointing performances that saw them slip to third place on the standings.

They got off to a quickfire start and opened the scoring after six minutes only when Coronado found the back of the net with a superb free-kick from the edge of the box. The Brazilian forward was on target again as he doubled Sharjah’s lead in the 17th minute following an inch-perfect through pass from his fellow countryman Caio Lucas.

To further compound Khorfakkan’s misery, Waleed Sirag scored an own goal to put Sharjah 3-0 up. Coronado converted from the spot to net his third of the night two minutes before the break, as Sharjah had the three points all but sealed.

Ramon Lopes reduced the deficit with less than 20 minutes to go. However, it was too little too late, especially with Coronado making it 5-1 in the 83rd minute.

After a five-game winless run, Sharjah returned to winning ways and moved temporarily to second place with 40 points, one above Bani Yas who still have a game in hand. Meanwhile, Khorfakkan remained in 11th place with 18 points.

Al Wasl, Fujairah play draw: Fabio Lima scored late to hand Al Wasl a 1-1 draw against Fujairah at Fujairah Stadium.

Fujairah’s Tunisian forward Mohamed Firas Firas Ben Larbi tapped home from close range to hand the hosts a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute.

Al Wasl were forced to continue the game with 10 men when defender Hueglo Neris was sent off in the 69th minute, as the home side were left with an uphill task.

However, Al Wasl made a late comeback as Fabio Lima converted from the spot to level the scoreline in the third minute of injury time. Fujairah’s substitute Ali Eid was sent off deep into injury time for a second booking.

Al Wasl extended their unbeaten streak against Fujairah to eight games (6 wins - two draws). The guests raised their tally to 30 points and temporarily occupy seventh place, while Fujairah failed to capitalize on Ajman’s draw earlier on Thursday as they remained in 13th place on 11 points.