Dubai: Al Shabab scored once in each half for a 2-1 win and full points against ten-man visiting Sharjah in their opening round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) here late on Friday.
Brazilian Henrique Luvannor opened the scoring in the tenth minute with a crafty drive past Mohammad Yousuf on the Sharjah goal, while skipper Carlos Villanueva ensured three points with a dainty bit of individual brilliance in the 67th minute. Sharjah pulled back a consolation goal three minutes from the final whistle after Essa Mohammad had handled the ball inside the area, and Wanderley Santos sent Salem Abdullah the wrong way from the spot.
If Luvannor’s swift tenth minute strike was the separating point on a humid first half that also witnessed the debut of Brazilian World Cup member Jo Alves de Assis, the Villanueva’s goal seven minutes after the hour was the hallmark of a thinking player.
Placed third last season Al Shabab stuck to a similar gameplan of maintaining possession and replying on the quick ball upfront using Azizbek Hydarov and Villanueva as the pivots.
The starting part of the match was evenly balanced with both teams enjoying ball possession. But the early goal dampened the Sharjah spirit, and the second one all but saw them succumb to long spells in their own half. There was a third decisive blow in the 74th minute when Shaheen Abdul Rahman was given a red card for a foul on Luvannor.
But, there was more drama towards the end when Al Shabab defender Essa Mohammad was sent for an early shower for handling the ball inside the area, and Santos coolly placed past Abdullah on the Al Shabab goal to make it 2-1.
With Renata Caja and Santos quite lively in the middle, Sharjah had a fair number of scoring chances. But those that cam their way were squandered with a Hamad Ebrahim shot missing narrowly two minutes from the hour and then Santos did not have a fair look at the goal before blasting wide with only the home team goalkeeper at his mercy.
Result: Al Shabab x Sharjah 2-1
