Sharjah beat Ajman 2-0 to end 2020 at top of AGL standings

Sharjah finished off 2020 at the top of the Arabian Gulf League table after overcoming Ajman 2-0 at Sharjah Stadium in matchweek 12 on Thursday.

The King managed to break the deadlock after seven minutes only, when Igor Coronado found the back of the net following an impressive teamwork.

The Oranges tried to level the scoreline, while the hosts were looking to double their lead. Majid Surour came close to netting the second for the King, but his effort was blocked by the defense.

Eight minutes after the restart, Ajman came close to levelling the scoreline through a freekick from Brazilian Gustavo De Maro.

Just one minutes from full time, the King were awarded a penalty after Welliton Soares was brought down inside the box. Soares converted from the spot to hand his side a 2-0 win.

Sharjah consolidated their position on top as they now raised their tally to 29 points, while Ajman remained 13th on on three points.

AL NASR FACE AL WAHDA: Al Nasr, who are presently third in the AGL standings with 23 points, three points below Sharjah and Al Jazira, will be facing sixth-placed Al Wahda who are on 18 points, in a 12th round match of the AGL at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Friday at 5pm.

A win for Krunoslav Jurchic’s men over Al Wahda will ensure they extend their lead over fourth-placed Bani Yas, who presently have 20 points from their 11 matches. A loss on the other hand would still the two teams maintain their position on the table vis-à-vis each other, but only so because Al Nasr enjoy the head-to-head record, having won their previous AGL match against Bani Yas 1-0 on Nov.27.

Al Nasr head coach Jurchic and midfield player Jasim Yaqoub addressed a pre-match press conference at which Jurchic said: “We have a new challenge as we will be playing an important match against Al Wahda, whom we respect a lot, especially as they have a group of great players.

Jurchic added: “Our team is ready to face them unitedly, as we had a positive atmosphere prevailing during training and we have no absentees except Antonio Toseh, who will miss the match due to receiving three yellow cards in his previous three matches.

Mid-field player Jassim Yaqoub meanwhile said: “The match will be a tough one as Al Wahda are one of the strongest teams in the league.

Meanwhile, speaking at the pre-match press conference, Al Wahda technical director Vuk Rasovic, said, “The match against Al Nasr is an important game -- one that is against opponents who perform very well, so we will need to focus on all aspects of our game. We would need to make the best of all scoring opportunities that come our way and exert our best efforts to win the match.” Lee Myung-Joo, the team’s central midfielder, added: “Against strong opponents like Al Nasr, we need to put on our best showing in order to return with the match’s three points and therefore, our focus would be only on winning the match.”

In another Matchweek 12 game on Thursday played at the Fujairah Club Stadium, Khorfakkan rallied from a goal down to prevail over hosts Fujairah 2-1.

Fujairah forged into the lead, courtesy a goal by their Tunisian midfielder Firas Ben Larbi in the 38th minute, which they took into half-time.

Barely a minute after resumption of play, Khorfakkan’s Brazilian midfield player Ramon connected an Oman Juma assist to restore parity for the visitors.

Incessant pressure by the Khorfakkan attack resulted in the second goal in the 51st minute when Ramon  turned provider this time and another of their Brazilian imports, forward Ricardinho scored to put his side into the lead.

The scoreline remained static with Fujairah’s attempts to equalise, meeting with failure and in the end, Khorfakkan won the match 2-1.

With this win, Khorfakkan, though still in 11th position, now have 11 points from 12 matches whereas Fujairah remain in 12th -- just outside the relegation zone -- with 7 points.

PRO LEAGUE BOARD OKAYS 2020-30 STRATEGIC PLAN: The UAE Pro League board approved the 2020-2030 strategic plan, and its details are scheduled to be announced in the upcoming days.

The approval came during the board’s sixth periodic meeting for the 2020-21 season, which was held on Tuesday, Dec.29, via web video conferencing.

The meeting saw the board review the UAE Pro League’s training program for the current season, then the marketing plan for the Arabian Gulf League Fantasy and the UAEPL’s official website.

The board also reviewed the preparations for the Arabian Gulf Super Cup match between Sharjah and Shabab Al Ahli set to be held on Jan.22nd, 2021 at Al Nasr’s Al Maktoum Stadium.