Dubai: Surprise package Bani Yas joined defending champions Sharjah at the top of the standings after second-round action of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL), over the weekend.
Both Sharjah and Bani Yas secured comfortable wins against Al Wahda and Fujairah respectively to be the only two teams with a perfect record and six points apiece after two matches gone in the 2020-2021 season.
Dropping valuable points were front-runners Al Ain, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and Al Jazira following draws over the weekend. Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and Al Ain fought their way to a 1-1 result, while Al Jazira picked up only their second point of the season after being held at home to a 1-1 draw by Al Dhafra.
Neighbours Al Nasr and Al Wasl continued their preparations for the Bur Dubai derby with identical 1-0 wins against Khor Fakkan and Hatta Club respectively, while Kalba also registered their first points of the season following a 1-0 result against Ajman Club.
Shahin Abdul Rahman netted a late winner to hand Sharjah full points through their 2-1 win over travelling Al Wahda at the Sharjah Stadium, late on Thursday.
Al Wahda opened the scoring on the half-hour mark when Tim Matavž accepted a long ball from Tahnoon Al Zaabi before finding the far corner of the home team goal. Sharjah levelled in the 68th minute when Brazilian striker Welliton Soares fired home an inch perfect ball from Khalid Ebrahim.
Just when it looked like the two would settle for a draw, Caio Fernandes’ cross found Shahin Abdul Rahman’s header sail to the corner of the Al Wahda net to help the defending champions to maximum six points after two matches.
In another match, Bani Yas fought back to earn a 3-1 win over Fujairah at Fujairah Stadium. Although looking more organised, Fujairah took the lead in the 14th minute when Kristiano Samuel converted from the penalty spot following a foul on Tunisian Firas Ben Al Arbi inside the area.
The Sky Blues regrouped in the second half and scored two quick goals. Six minutes after the restart, a defence-splitting pass from Sultan Al Shamsi found Nicolas Gimenez who easily put the ball into the back of the net, and three minutes later Joao Pedro headed in a cross from second-half substitute John Tibar.
Joao Pedro scored his second in the 72nd minute as he fired the ball from a tight angle leaving the Fujairah goalkeeper helpless to seal a deserving 3-1 win.
Travelling Al Nasr too earned full points, thanks to a late goal from Habib Al Fardan. A deft pass from Mahmoud Khamis in the 82nd minute saw the former UAE national team playmaker with no marker, and he did the easiest thing of placing into an empty net.
In Dubai, Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba’s header was cancelled out by a late Yousuf Jaber goal as Shabab Al Ahli and Al Ain played out a 1-1 draw. The draw sees Shabab Al Ahli Dubai in fourth place with four points before they next take on Al Wahda, while Al Ain are a place below in fifth before they face defending champions Sharjah later this week.
RESULTS
Hatta 2 Al Wasl 4
Fujairah 1 Bani Yas 3
Sharjah 2 Al Wahda 1
Al Jazira 1 Al Dhafra 1
Khor Fakkan 0 Al Nasr 1
Ajman 0 Kalba 1
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 1 Al Ain 1
