Sharjah fight their way to 1-1 draw with Al Ahli in Arabian Gulf League

Draw reduces Al Ahli’s lead at the top of the AGL table to four points, while Sharjah are eight points behind in fourth with 14, writes Ahmed Rizvi.

Sharjah’s Yousif Saeed Juma, right, applies pressure on Friday night. Courtesy of Al Ittihad

Sharjah 1 Al Ahli 1

Sharjah: Ramos 14'

Al Ahli: Ciel 12'

Man of the match: Mauricio Ramos (Sharjah)

SHARJAH // Al Ahli’s seven-match winning start to the Arabian Gulf League came to an end Friday night following a bruising 1-1 draw at Sharjah.

Taking a 12th-minute lead through Ciel, the visitors were pegged back two minutes later by Mauricio Ramos’s equaliser and Ahli’s much-vaunted strike-force failed to find the target after that, with Ramos and company keeping a tight watch on Grafite, Ciel and Luis Jimenez.

The draw makes Sharjah the first team to take points off Ahli in the league this season, but Catalin Raducan, the assistant for suspended Ahli manager Cosmin Olaroiu, was not too disappointed with the result.

“We try to win all the matches, but it is difficult, if not impossible,” Raducan said. “I don’t think this draw after winning seven games in a row is a big problem. We tried our best to win, but this is life.

“We met a good team, who played aggressively. First half, we had problems playing our game but we did better in the second half. I can say the result is OK.”

Paulo Bonamigo, the Sharjah boss, also agreed the draw was a fair result.

“Both teams played a good game,” the former Al Shabab and Al Jazira manager said. “Sometimes we were better than them, at times they were better than us. In the end, the draw is a fair result.”

Sharjah did come out aggressively and their intentions were made obvious in the opening minute when Ze Carlos slammed his elbow into Ahli centreback Basheer Saeed’s face and left him with a bloody nose.

The home fans cheered the Brazilian striker despite his booking for the infringement, but Ciel silenced them with a clinical finish in the 11th minute. A poor clearance by Ramos allowed Ahli’s prized Brazilian winger to make a dash back into the box and finish on the run.

Ramos, however, made amends two minutes later, flicking the ball past the Ahli goalkeeper from inside a crowded box following a corner. Salem Khamis, one of the four former Ahli players on the pitch, could have made it 2-1 for the hosts in the 25th minute with a dipping free-kick, but keeper Saif Yousuf tipped the ball over.

Yousuf did well again early in the second half, blocking a blistering volley from Carlos.

Ahli, of course, were not surprised by Sharjah’s physical approach.

“We know how they play,” Raducan said. “We know Sharjah, we know they are a good team. They are going through a good moment and they played well.”

Baniyas 4 Al Shaab 0

Carlos Munoz was the star of the show with three goals as Baniyas cruised past Al Shaab with a 4-0 win.

Munoz opened the scoring in the 19th minute after Abdalla Saleh was sent off for Al Shaab.

Munoz added his second after 30 minutes thanks to an assist from Luis Farina, and in the 39th minute Farina netted himself.

Munoz capped the night in the second minute of injury time, again combining with Farina to complete his treble.

Al Ain 5 Emirates 2

Al Ain recorded an emphatic 5-2 win over Emirates at the Tahnon bin Mohamed Stadium, bouncing back from last round’s defeat at Al Ahli in free-scoring fashion.

Asamoah Gyan scored two and Michel Bastos, Mohanad Salem and Alex Brosque were all on target for Al Ain, while half-time substitute German Herrera scored twice for Emirates.

Al Ain have 13 points and Emirates stay stuck on six.

Ajman 0 Al Dhafra 0

Ajman were held to a frustrating goalless draw at home to Al Dhafra in Round 8 of the Arabian Gulf League.

The 0-0 scoreline at the Rashid bin Saeed Stadium means Ajman are still languishing near the foot of the table and just above the relegation zone on six points from their opening eight league fixtures, while Al Dhafra remain in 10th position with nine points, behind Al Wahda on goal difference.

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