Al Shabab edges out Sharjah

Al Shabab scored their first win after three consecutive defeats in the First division soccer league, edging out Sharjah 2-1 at Maktoum bin Rashid stadium yesterday.

Al Shabab is now fifth with 10 points, while Sharjah dropped to 11th place with seven points. Al Ain and Emarat are also on seven points, but they have a better goal difference than Sharjah.

Despite the defeat, Sharjah, who began to recover after a poor start to the season, dispalyed a fighting performance until the last minute of the match. They could have won one point had not their strikers, Moroccan Al Fadhly, Saeed Al Kass and Al Anbarry, squandered several chances in the end.

Sharjah opened the account in the 22nd minute when Abdullah Suhail crossed from the left to Mohammed Al Fadhly, who slotted the ball to the left of Hasan Sherrif.

Talented Al Shabab midfielder Walid Obaid made many forays, but couldn't find the target. Issa Mohammed, the Al Shabab defender, got the equaliser in the 33rd minute with a powerful drive from 35 metres, that caught Fahd Mussa, the Sharjah keeper, napping.

On resumption, the home team attacked with vigour. Nelson gave Al Shabab the lead in the 52nd minute. After recieving the ball outside the penalty area, he advanced and hit a quick low ball to the right of Sharjah keeper.

Sharjah pressed for the equaliser through Anbarry and Moroccan Al Fadhly, but all their attempts were thwarted by Al Shabab keeper. Al Kass and Anbarry lost three excellent scoring opportunities to score the equaliser in the dying minutes.

In the second match played at Fujairah stadium, Al Wasl beat Ahli Fujairah 3-0. Naser Issa, Khalid Darwish and Majed Saeed scored the goals. Al Wasl moved to third place with 12 points and a game on hand, while Ahli Fujairah anchored to the bottom with three points.