Sharjah head into New Year as No.1

Dubai - 'The King' thump Emirates to lead Arabian Gulf League

Sharjah FC head into the New Year as the No.1 team football team in UAE following their thumping victory over Emirates in the Arabian Gulf League.
Cape Verde winger Ryan Mendes and Brazilian striker Welliton Soares were on the double at the Khaled bin Mohamed Stadium as 'The King' won quite comfortably with a 4-0 scoreline.
With closest rivals Al Ain not in action this week following their Fifa Club World Cup commitments, Sharjah sit at the top with 31 points following their ninth win in 13 fixtures. They have drawn the other four.
Meanwhile, Emirates stay rooted at second from the bottom, with this being their eighth defeat.
Sharjah have been on a roll this season under former player and now coach Abdulaziz Anbari and it didn't take long for the hosts to go ahead. They were up and running on 16 minutes with Mendes, who joined on a three-year deal from Turkish club Kayserispor, slotting home from close after making his way down the left flank.
They then doubled the lead on the half hour with Soares, who too had joined from Kayserispor last summer, tapping home the rebound after Ali Saqr had failed to collect Igor Coronado's freekick.
Sharjah enjoyed a three-goal cushion going into the break following good team work between Soares, Coronado and Mendes. Soares nicely squared it up following Coronado's through and Mendes fired it into an open goal on 44 minutes.
And the win was complete with Soares sending his left-footed volley home following a low cross from Coronado on 75 minutes.
Elsewhere, Al Wasl suffered their second loss on the trot and eighth overall, after they were stunned by Ittihad Kalba 3-1. Myke Ramos scored a brace. Meanwhile, Salmis Khamis scored the winner in the final minute as Shabab Al Ahli beat Fujairah 1-0.
james@khaleejtimes.com
 
GOALS & CARDS:
Sharjah 4
(Goals: Ryan Mendes 16, 44, Welliton Soares 30, 75. Yellow cards: Ali Al Dhanhani 45+1, Shaheen Abdulrahman 88)
Emirates 0
(Yellow cards: Ali Saqr 29, Cheick Diabate 50, Abdulla Musa 82)
 
Ittihad Kalba 3
(Goals: Myke Ramos 54, 70, Giovanni Sio 87. Yellow card: Yaqoub Alblooshi 74)
Al Wasl 1
(Goal: Hamad Al Hammadi 28 (OG). Yellow cards: Salem Al Azizi 60, Hazza Salem Al Farsi 85)
 
Fujairah 0
(Yellow cards: Abdulla Al Noobi 39, Mohanad Khameis 59)
Shabab Al Ahli 1
(Goal: Salmin Khamis 90. Yellow cards: Waled Husain Hassan 21, Walid Abbas 41, Ahmed Abdulla 69, Jaime Ayovi 83)