Sharjah dent Al Wahda’s Pro League hopes

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Sharjah managed a 2-1 win against Al Wahda, and in that they gifted Al Ain some breathing space at the top of the table in matchweek 22 of the ADNOC Pro League.

Sharjah sit in fourth place, level on 45 points with Al Wahda who are third.

Gustavo threatened early on in the game for Sharjah who were the better side in the opening minutes after he headed a ball across the post.

23 minutes into the game, Al Wahda opened the scoring with their first shot thanks to European Cup winner Adrien Silva, who managed to slot home after Darwish Mohamed saved Omar Khribin's initial shot, with Joao Pedro teeing up Silva for the rebound.

Sharjah kept pressing for an equaliser and Bernard almost got it with 36 minutes on the clock, but an Al Wahda defender held fast and blocked the shot before Ben Malango eventually got the goal that pulled them back with six minutes of time remaining before the break.

This goal saw him break his scoring drought, which lasted for 47 minutes of play.

The Congolese forward stole the show once more just before the half-time whistle, after heading in Bernard's free kick, seeing out the half in front for his side.

Al Wahda attempted to claw back in the second half with an early attack coming through Fabio Martins, who crossed the ball for Khribin but the Syrian striker scraped the bar with his header.

Sharjah could have gone further in front when none other than Malango was stopped in his tracks as he attempted to shoot. Luan Pereira too almost headed Sharjah further in front, but it was wide of the target.

With Al Wahda desperate for an equaliser, Sharjah's counter-attacks posed more threats as time passed with Ousmane Camara testing the keeper late on before doing so again with seven minutes of play left, attempting to shoot but somehow missed a gaping goal with his slow reaction to the situation. The final minutes passed with Sharjah holding on to gain a valuable win.

Al Jazira moved level with Wahda and Sharjah with a comfortable 3-0 win over Ajman at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium.

UAE striker Ali Mabkhout found the net twice after Abdoulay Diaby had put Jazira in front on 17 minutes.

Mabkhout and Diaby exchanged with the latter dispatching a low finish past the keeper Ali Al Hosani.

The UAE international doubled his side's lead on 37 minute with a clinical finish when Abdulla Ramadan chipped a ball over Ajman's defence into the penalty area.

Makhbout grabbed his brace on 72 minutes when he met Mohammed Jamal's through pass with a smart finish into the back of the net.