Abu Dhabi side pull off narrow win as Sharjah suffer second straight defeat

Dubai - It did not take the Abu Dhabi side much effort to enhance their lead after Jefferson Farfan broke the deadlock in the 41st minute and Ahmed Al Attas scored easily in the 73rd minute to double the scoreline.

 Sharjah continued to drop points after the former champions suffered their second straight defeat in the second round of the UAE Arabian Gulf League. The home side went down 1-2 to Al Jazira.
It did not take the Abu Dhabi side much effort to enhance their lead after Jefferson Farfan broke the deadlock in the 41st minute and Ahmed Al Attas scored easily in the 73rd minute to double the scoreline.
And despite the hard work of Maicosuel who reduced the margin to 1-2 with nine minutes remaining from the final whistle, the Abu Dhabi giants managed to defend their narrow lead and return home with the first full points of their new season's campaign.
However, while Al Jazira received a painful home defeat at the hands of Al Wasl in the opener of the competition, they were able to bounce back with an away win to increase the miseries of their hosts who slipped to the bottom of the table with two defeats from two starts.
"In football you may play well and still lose," said Sharjah keeper Mohammed Yousuf. "I don't think our two defeats reflect the true form of the team. Sometimes you need luck and hopefully we will be able to make a strong comeback to the competition and make our presence felt," he added.
The same opinion was echoed by teammate Hamdan Qassim pointing out that when you don't score you will concede goals and lose.
"We played a big game and created some good scoring opportunities, but the final result was not as perfect as it should be," he said.
"I'm optimistic and there's plenty of time to make things good. I don't call it awkward start, but precisely it's an unlucky beginning," he noted.
Elsewhere, Al Jazira players were over the moon after the narrow win and the full points of what they have termed a difficult encounter.
"Sharjah is a big team and we were able to score a double to make their job a little bit tough," said the UAE international keeper Ali Khaseif.
"We have dropped crucial points at home in the opener when losing 1-2 to Al Wasl. This is football where winning and losing are synonymous to each other and when you win you have to understand that one day or another you could be defeated.
"We are delighted with the advantage and hopefully we continue to play good games and claim points to keep our chances alive in the run for the title," he added.