Al Ahli, deflated by the absence of coach Cosmin Olaroiu and goalkeeper Majed Naser, turned out to be a poor travelling party as Sharjah trounced them 4-1 at the Sharjah Stadium on Wednesday night.
Ahmed Khamis and Saif Rashed put Sharjah on course by the 24th minute, but Carlos Munoz pulled one back for the defending League Cup champions.
Any hopes of a comeback in the second half were dashed during an eventful 11 minutes in which two yellow cards were sandwiched between the two goals that Brazilians Wanderley Santos and Rodriguinho put past goalkeeper Saif Yousuf.
Just before the drama began in the 52nd minute, Ahli’s Brazilian forward Grafite, who had an assist in the Munoz goal, claimed unsuccessfully that his header had crossed the goal line.
Sharjah were also fortunate with their first two goals. A fierce left-footed shot from the edge of the area from Khamis bounced awkwardly and sneaked under Yousuf. Khamis then send an effort wide from close range, but a mix-up between Yousuf and Mirel Radoi allowed Rashed to swell the lead.
The three-goal cushion ensured that Sharjah went ahead of Al Dhafra, who were held by Al Wahda on Tuesday, on goal difference, and top Group B with seven points.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Toure did the star turn for Al Nasr, with two goals in the space of nine minutes of the second half, which was enough to hand a 2-1 to Al Ain at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Lee Myung Joo had put the hosts ahead in the fifth minute, but Al Nasr kept the under-strength rivals under pressure.
In the other third-round match, Kalba beat Ajman to move into third place in Group A behind Al Shabab and Nasr.
All the action happened in the first half with Dris Fettouhi’s 15th-minute score for Ajman cancelled by an own goal from Masoud Hassan, three minutes before Sultan Hareb piled on the misery with the match-winner.
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