Al Ain were unable to extend their lead at the top as they were condemned to their first Arabian Gulf League defeat of the season with a 3-1 loss to Sharjah last night.
The Boss went into the match knowing a win would see them open a four-point gap over title rivals and second-placed Al Wahda following the Clarets’ stalemate to Shabab Al Ahli on Friday.
But they were beaten by a Sharjah side in a match that saw three goals come from the penalty spot at the Khalid bin Mohammed Stadium.
The King made a bright start and took an early lead when Vander Vieira was brought down inside the box by Ismail Ahmed. The Brazilian made no mistake from the penalty spot, firing home for his fifth league goal of the season.
Their lead however, lasted only 10 minutes as Al Ain equalised through Omar Abdulrahman’s effort. After Hassan Saleh tripped Hussein El Shahat inside the box, ‘Amoory’ powered the ball into the back of the net.
Al Ain began to find their rhythm and Mohamed Abdulrahman was unlucky to see his 35-yard shot go agonisingly wide.
With the scores level at half-time, the match was still in the balance, but despite Al Ain’s possession they were unable to take their chances and were soon made to pay.
In the 65th minute, the referee awarded the third penalty of the night when Saif Rashid won the penalty after being fouled by visiting goalkeeper Khalid Eisa. That saw Vieira double his tally for the evening with a 2-1 lead.
Zoran Mamic’s side continued to press forward for the leveler and Caio had a glorious opportunity when put through one-on-one.
However, the Brazilian was wasteful, bizarrely missing from the six-yard box.
The visitors’ task of getting back into the game got even more difficult three minutes from time when Luiz Marcelo got his first league goal of the season.
After a long pass from goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani was nodded by Yousif Saeed, Welliton Soares outpaced his marker to square for for Marcelo who slotted home Sharjah’s third goal of the season.
The result means Al Ain’s lead at the top is reduced to just one point ahead of Al Wahda. The two sides will meet in their next match at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday.
For Sharjah, they overtake Ajman and Shabab Al Ahli into sixth place with 22 points.
