DUBAI // A 4-1 triumph would please most club managers around the world, but Ivan Hasek was not content with that margin of win over Sharjah. The Al Ahli manager thought his Pro League leaders should have scored a couple more at home on Friday night. Hasek was also irked by the last-minute goal that his side conceded. "Winning 5-0 is a lot better than winning 4-1," said the Czech. "We had a chance to score more goals, but we won only 4-1. Once again we conceded a goal in the final minutes. This is not good.
"Every time we take the lead, we start taking it easy. We cannot allow that. In the future, we have to make sure we play until the final second of the game." The win, however, served Ahli's purpose and with three Pro League games left, they have a three-point cushion over Al Jazira. After a barren first-half, Clederson Cesar scored twice, while Bare and Faisal Khalil struck one apiece to keep Ahli on course for their fifth league title, and their first since 2006. Jan Carlos scored the consolation for Sharjah, who are in danger of being relegated and need a minimum of four points to avoid that ignominy.
They host bottom-placed Al Khaleej next. Abdul Wahab Abdul Qader, who took over the task of saving Sharjah's season on Wednesday, said: "I will do everything I can to make sure they are playing the Pro League next season." arizvi@thenational.ae