Hosts Sharjah stun Al Ain in Arabian Gulf League

Dubai - Canedo scores winner for Al Wasl in Dubai derby against Al Nasr

Hosts Sharjah got out of relegation trouble for the moment by placing themselves 10th in current standings thanks to a hard-earned 3-2 shock win over leaders Al Ain in the Arabian Gulf League soccer championships on Friday evening.
Attacking midfielder Maicousel bulleted home from a difficult angle in the 80th minute (3-2) when the sides looked like earning a point each after Saeed Al Katheeri equalised for the Boss in the 79th minute (2-2).
Dependable Wanderley Santos gave the home side a deserving lead (1-0) in the 18th minute and he added one more for his brace in the 71st minute (2-1) after Ibrahim Diaky restored parity in the 58th minute (1-1) for the visitors.
In a late Thursday night fixture, a stoppage-time Caio Canedo winner ended hosts Al Wasl's seven-year wait for victory over Dubai rivals Al Nasr when they ended the Blues' run, 3-2.
Al Wasl opened the scoring in spectacular style in the 10th minute when veteran midfielder Hugo Viana struck from a long distance into Ahmad Shambih's (1-0). The Cheetahs went 2-0 up minutes later from a rapid break down the right as Ahmed Al Shamisi whipped a cross into the area, which Mubarak Saeed failed to cut out, and Fabio de Lima was able to finish from close range for his 10th League goal of the season.
In the 31st minute a curling Mahmoud Khamis free kick was tipped over the bar by Rashed Ali as the visitors attempted to find a way back into the game, but that opportunity was handed to them in the 35th minute with the award of a penalty as Waheed Ismail handled Jonathan Pitroipa's shot in the area, earning the defender a red card for his second booking in a matter of minutes.
With the hosts down to 10 men, Al Nasr's chance to pull a goal back was thwarted by a triple-save from Rashed Ali to deny Jires Kembo-Ekoko's spot kick and two follow-ups on the rebound, keeping the score at 2-0. Al Wasl were then hit by two injuries; Salem Abdulla and Ahmed Al Shamisi being forced off to be replaced by Hassan Ameen and Mohamed Jamal, but they maintained their lead at the break.
In the 55th minute, though, Al Nasr pulled a goal back through an instinctive first-time finish from Nilmar for his sixth league goal of the season. Two minutes later Mubarak Saeed's header from a corner required a reflex stop from Ali to keep it out as the visitors continued to mount pressure, and by the 63rd minute. Al Nasr had pulled level as right-back Ahmed Ibrahim's pinpoint cross found substitute Ahmed Khamis in the box, who pounced with a thumping finish to mark his debut for the club with an equalising goal just one minute after coming on.
Esam Dhahi saw a goal-bound header turned behind for a corner and Jonathan Pitroipa's shot from a dribble into the box was deflected fractionally off target as the visitors sought to seize the lead, and in the 90th minute they looked certain to do so as substitute Jassim Yaqoob's cross found an unmarked Ahmed Khamis in the area, but he somehow fired over from close range. The game took a final twist at the end, though, as Al Wasl broke away on a rapid counter-attack after Al Nasr left-back Mahmoud Khamis lost the ball, and Canedo raced free to strike past Shambih in stoppage time.