The story of the match
Four matches into the competition and Nilmar, Al Nasr’s much-hyped summer signing, is still searching for his first goal in the Arabian Gulf League.
Nasr fans, however, are not fretting just yet. As the former Brazil international tries to find his feet in the UAE, and his scoring boots as well, the sprightly French-Burkinabe duo of Jires Kembo-Ekoko and Jonathan Pitroipa have stepped up for the team.
Alongside Luis Jimenez, they have kept the Dubai club’s unbeaten start in the league going.
Winners in their first three matches, Nasr could have returned home with another three points from Sharjah after Pitroipa had given them a 23rd minute lead, but Maicosuel’s stunning equaliser in the final minute of the session left them to share the points.
Nasr, however, remain at the top of the league table with 10 points, one clear of defending champions Al Ain. With the way Pitroipa and Kembo-Ekoko are playing, the Dubai club should fancy their chances.
Both Pitroipa and Kembo-Ekoko came close on several occasions before the former, who moved to Nasr late in the summer after failing to secure a regular first-team place at Al Jazira, took the ball from the feet of Abdullah Ghanem, cut his way past Mauricio Ramos and then found the net with a deft left-footed shot.
Maicosuel’s equaliser was an equally brilliant solo effort. Surrounded by six blue shirts as he sprinted towards the Nasr goal, the Brazilian shimmied his way past three of them before finishing off with a scorching, low volley.
Man of the match
Maicosuel (Sharjah) Coming to the UAE with an impressive resume that includes stops at clubs such as Udinese and Atletico Mineiro, Maicosuel does offer a reminder of another Brazilian, Ciel. He has speed and, as his equaliser suggests, plenty of tricks up his sleeve to help keep fans of Sharjah and the AGL entertained.
What the managers said
Paulo Bonamigo, Sharjah coach: "It was a tough match for both teams. Nasr had more control, but Sharjah were better in attack and created more chances. In the end, I believe this result is fair for both teams."
Ivan Jovanovic, Al Nasr coach: "This is not the result we wanted from this game, so I am not happy. We started the game well, we scored the first goal and controlled the pace of the game, but we received a goal because of a mistake. We knew that the second half would be a lot more difficult because Sharjah will go on the defence. I believe that we could have had a better game and got a better result."
The National’s verdict
Sharjah have earned their first point four matches into the season, but their difficult start is far from over. Having played last season’s top three in Al Ain, Al Jazira and Al Shabab, plus the Arabian Gulf Cup and President’s Cup winners (Nasr) in their first four matches, Paulo Bonamigo’s men next meet one of the title favourites for this season, Al Ahli. Their schedule will get easier after that, so Sharjah fans need to keep faith until then. Their team are better than their results suggest.
Two more games end in 1-1 draw, Amith Passela reports
Al Dhafra and Al Shaab both got their first points on the board in four games in the Arabian Gulf League.
Mohammed Salem put the visitors ahead on the 18th minute and the Senegalese strker Makhete Diop struck the equaliser four minutes from time in the 1-1 result on Sunday night at the Hamdan bin Zayed stadium.
Salem collected a through pass inside the area and slammed it past a hapless goalkeeper Abdulla Sultan.
They had an opportunity to extend the lead before the break. Amro El Soulia, the Egyptian midfielder, setup Michael N’dri inside the area with a beautiful pass but accompanied by a meek effort straight at the keeper.
Dhafra pushed hard for the equaliser in the second half and were rewarded when they earned a spot kick 10 minutes from time.
Diop, usually reliable on such occasions, sent the spot kick crashing against the crossbar.
However, Diop made amends by heading a cross from substitute Haddaf Al Ameri, who also earned the spot kick when he was brought down by Ceilo dos Santos.
Dhafra had a golden opportunity to score again in injury time but Ahmed Ali’s effort on an open goal was sent over the bar.
Abdulraheem Jumaa, the Dhafra midfielder, felt they wasted an opportunity to win their first game of the season.
“There was three points for the taking but we just wasted the chances that came our way,” he said.
Shaab returning to the top flight after their relegation in 2013/2014 were happy to return with a point, but for Dhafra, it was their worst start since they returned to the AGL in 2012/2013.
The other early game between Emirates and Fujairah too ended in a 1-1 draw.
Patrick Eze gave the visitors the lead in the 46th minute and Mohammed Mallalah cancelled it just past the hour.
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