Sharjah coach Zuwawi under pressure

Dubai: Sharjah coach Yousuf Zuwawi's position is under threat after a 4-0 defeat at home by Al Jazira on Tuesday.

The defeat was the team's fourth in six league matches putting them in 10th place in the 12 club league.

Zuwawi admitted this was the worst spell he had been through as a coach but was not afraid of being fired.

He said: "I am not scared if the board decides to terminate my contract as far as I am loyal and fidelity to my job.

"The coach is always responsible for his team's defeat and I will not escape from my responsibilities.

"In my five years work with different UAE clubs, I has never passed through such a poor situation like this."

Sharjah chairman Shaikh Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al Thani said the team had become an enigma in recent matches.

He said: "We do not know what's happening, if we know where is the deficit, we can solve it. The team did well in the first 20 minutes and lost some scoring chances."

Shaikh Ahmad said the club board would hold a meeting to discuss the team's situation and what to do about it.

"The team coach Yousuf Al Zuwawi is doing his job in a proper way and I do not think we have to blame him for the defeats in last matches.

"We (board, players, technical staff) are all responsible and not one person," said the Shaikh Ahmad.

Al Jazira played well and deserved to win 4-0 to move two points behind leaders Al Ahli.

Brazilian Rafael Sobis was outstanding while Ebrahim Diake, Sibait Khater, Rozario and Abdullah Mussa scored for Al Jazira.

Youngsters

The Al Jazira coach gave the chance to three young players - Abdullah Faraj, Abdullah Mussa and Abdullah Qasim - after he was satisfied with the result to gain experience and prepare them for the coming matches.

Al Ain maintained their second place with a 2-0 win against Ajman.

Chilean striker Jorge Valdivia hit the Al Ain two goals in the first half. Ajman protested against the referee sending off two of their players. The defeat dropped Ajman to eighth place with seven points.

Al Wahda lost two valuable points in Al Dhafra after they were held to a 1-1 draw. Al Wahda led for most of the game after Bashir Saeed scored, but Hussain Suhail the former Al Jazira striker levelled for the home team in the last minute.

The draw widened the gap between Al Wahda and the leaders Al Ahli to four points.

Al Wasl returned from Al Shaab with a point after the game finished 2-2. Al Shaab's form has been improved since Egyptian coach Ayman Ramady took over last month.

Despite staying in 11th with four points, Al Shaab have played well in recent matches. Al Wasl are in sixth with seven points.

The league will stop for 10 days due to UAE playing Iran a World cup qualifier on November 19.

The next round of fixtures are:

November 23 - Al Khaleej v Al Nasr, Al Jazira v Al Dhafra, Ajman v Al Shabab, Al Wasl v Sharjah.

November 24 - Al Ahli v Al Shaab, Al Wahda v Al Ain.

Al Ahli 6 5 - 1 13 6 15

Al Ain 6 4 2 - 12 2 14

Al Jazira 6 4 1 1 15 5 13

Wahda 6 3 2 1 15 10 11

Al Nasr 6 3 1 2 15 12 10

Al Wasl 6 2 1 3 9 12 7

Shabab 6 2 1 3 7 10 7

Ajman 6 2 1 3 4 7 7

Dhafra 6 1 3 2 5 7 6

Sharjah 6 2 - 4 10 17 6

Shaab 6 1 1 4 7 11 4

Khaleej 6 - 1 5 4 17 1