Sharjah beat Shabab Al Ahli as Kalba triumph
Sharjah moved provisionally to the top of the Adnoc Pro League standings after securing a 2-0 home win over Shabab Al Ahli at the Sharjah Stadium on Saturday, in the opening day of Matchweek 8.
An own goal by Shabab Al Ahli’s Oumar Keita in the 70th minute and a late strike from substitute Harib Abdalla Suhail in the 86th minute sealed the victory.
The result lifted Sharjah to 15 points, temporarily taking them into first place, while Shabab Al Ahli remained third with 13 points.
Sharjah started brightly, with Lorran De Sousa forcing goalkeeper Hamad Almeqbaali into a difficult save in the ninth minute. Almeqbaali was called into action again in the 18th minute, denying an acrobatic overhead kick from Luan Pereira.
Shabab Al Ahli also threatened before the break, with Sardar Azmoun striking the crossbar as an entertaining first half ended goalless. Sharjah enjoyed 54.7% possession during the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts increased the pressure after the restart, but Almeqbaali produced three important saves in quick succession, denying Luan Pereira in the 52nd minute, Laba Kodjo in the 53rd and Lorran De Sousa in the 57th.
At the other end, Sharjah goalkeeper Adel Alhosani prevented Azmoun from opening the scoring with a fine save in the 63rd minute.
Sharjah finally broke the deadlock in the 70th minute when Keita turned the ball into his own net.
Harib Abdalla Suhail then doubled the lead in the 86th minute, just three minutes after coming off the bench, completing a fine individual move to secure all three points for the hosts.
Kalba rally to down Al Dhafra: Kalba came from behind to secure an important 3-1 away win over 10-man Al Dhafra at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium.
The victory lifted Kalba to eight points and moved them into ninth place in the standings, while Al Dhafra remained 11th with six points.
Sory Kaba gave Al Dhafra the lead in the 20th minute, but the hosts suffered a setback when Karim El Berkaoui was sent off, leaving them to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Al Dhafra went into half-time with a 1-0 lead. Kalba dominated possession during the opening period with 65%, compared with 35% for the hosts, but struggled to convert their advantage into goals.
Kalba responded strongly after the break, with Benjamin Tetteh equalising from the penalty spot in the 50th minute following a handball by Al Dhafra’s Rostand Djooh.
Just two minutes later, Ahmad Noorollah completed the comeback, scoring in the 52nd minute to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
Al Dhafra attempted to respond despite being a player down, but Kalba maintained their lead as the match entered stoppage time.
Antonio Junior then sealed the victory with a third goal in the fifth minute of added time, completing an impressive second-half turnaround.
