Abu Dhabi: Sharjah moved off the bottom of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) table on Friday after beating fellow strugglers Kalba 4-2, while Al Shabab edged past ten-man Al Nasr 2-1 in their Dubai derby.
Sharjah’s first points of the season mean Kalba replace them as the AGL basement boys.
They had stormed into a 4-0 lead with three minutes to go thanks to Luan Michel Louza’s 25th-minute opener and second-half goals from Yousuf Saeed Juma (51) and Wanderley (87), along with an own goal from Yacob Hassan Mohammad (81).
But two injury-time goals from Portuguese striker Luis Leal added a layer of respectability to the result for Kalba.
Al Shabab, meanwhile, displayed their title credentials with a hard-fought win over Al Nasr, who suffered their first defeat of the season.
Goals from Henrique Luvannor and Carlos Villanueva meant Ali Al Ameri’s second-half strike was only a consolation for Al Nasr, who had Mahmoud Khamis sent off for a second bookable offence.
Later in the evening, Bani Yas were due to face a tough home derby at home to Al Wahda, who lay second behind leaders Al Jazira.
In Dubai, meanwhile, Al Wasl were seeking their first win of the season when they took on champions Al Ahli.
Before the day’s action on Friday, Al Jazira led the standings with seven points from three matches, the latest of which was their 3-0 defeat of Emirates on Thursday night.
