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Another weekend of twist and turns in the Arabian Gulf League saw Al Jazira slip up at the top of the table and Fujairah earn a vital win down the bottom.
The weekend began at the Ittihad Kalba Stadium as the Tigers produced a second-half comeback to earn victory over Khor Fakkan.
The visitors broke the deadlock through Dado just before the break and held the hosts until the 86th minute. Ahmed Amer equalised and Sultan Aldi netted in the winner five minutes later to seal the win for Jorge De Silva’s side and increase their gap from the Eagles by 11 points.
Shabab Al Ahli were 2-1 winners against Al Dhafra to extend their unbeaten run of 12 matches at the Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium. Federico Cartabia converted from the spot to give the Red Knights the lead before Idriss Mzaoutiyani netted the equaliser eight minutes into the second half.
An own goal from Pedro Pavlov of Al Dhafra handed the visitors the victory after he slotted Jaloliddin Masharipov’s free-kick into his own net. The Western Knights remain nine points from relegation, meanwhile, Gerard Zaragoza’s side moved into the top four.
Baniyas went top of the Arabian Gulf League after their win against bottom of the table Hatta. Nicolas Gimenez’s strike was the difference between the two teams. The visitors controlled possession in the second half but struggled to find the back of the net.
Sharjah FC and Al Wasl shared the points in a six-goal thriller. The hosts came back from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 in a thriller at the Zabeel Stadium. Joao Figueiredo ended his eight-game goal drought with a double just before half-time to give Al Wasl a deserved lead.
Welliton Soares got one back for Sharjah but his goal only lasted a minute as Al Salmin regained Al Wasl’s lead. The visitors pressed for a response in the last quarter of the game and were rewarded for their efforts through Saif Rashid. The 26-year-old calmly slotted the ball past Adel Al-Hosani to get the King’s back in the game. Within two minutes from the end, striker Salem Saleh headed in to complete the comeback.
Laurentiu Reghecampf extended his side’s run to 12 games as they sit seventh in the league, whilst Sharjah FC stay third, nine points from leaders Baniyas.
Al Ain comfortably saw out struggling Ajman. The hosts took advantage of their dominant pressure when Mohammed Abbas capitalised from a defensive error to give the visitors the lead. The boss scored their second four minutes from the end through Togolese international Laba Kodjo to seal the points.
The Abu Dhabi side stay in sixth, four points from Shabab Al-Ahli in fourth, meanwhile, the Orange Brigade side stepped into the relegation zone following Fujairah’s win.
The Wolves boosted their hopes of survival after a 2-0 win against Al Nasr. Mohamed Mustafa and Douglas Coutinho were the scorers for Fujairah who earn their first win since December. Nassif Al Bayawi’s side move three clear of the relegation zone into 12th, whilst Al Nasr dropped to fifth.
The weekend concluded with a shock at Al Nahyan Stadium as Al Wahda defeat Al Jazira 2-0. Tim Matavz broke the deadlock in the second half for the Clarets.
The visitors searched for a response but Ismali Matar doubled the lead for Hent ten Cate’s side who earned back-to-back wins for the first time since November. They move five points from the top four whilst the pride of Abu Dhabi side drop into second, one point from Baniyas at the top.
What next?
The Sky Blues continue their title charge against Sharjah FC who rescued a point on the weekend. Fujairah look to follow on from their win against Shabab-Al-Ahli who have their eyes on finishing in the top four.
Another game goes begging for Hatta who are in need of points down the bottom face Al Dhafra who will look to end a four-match winless run.
