Sharjah drub Dibba to start campaign in style as Al Ain thump Khorfakkan

A brace from Ousmane Camara, in addition to two goals from Caio Lucas and Luan Pereira handed Sharjah a commanding 4-1 win over Dibba Al-Hisn at Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi Stadium in Sharjah on Saturday.

Playing their opener of Adnoc Pro League, Sharjah dominated the proceedings from the beginning.

Lucas scored the opener for Sharjah after 36 minutes with a superb diving header following an excellent cross from Khaled Ebraheim Al Dhanhani.

An unstoppable strike from Camara in the stoppage time of the first half saw the visitors doubling their advantage.

The third was quick to follow, with Luan Pereira timing his run perfectly to head in Khaled Dhanhani’s cross before the break.

Sharjah were granted a penalty in the 72nd minute, and M. Ben Alarbi’s strike from the spot bounced off the post, but Camara headed the rebound over the keeper into the net.

Dibba Al Hisn pulled one back when Joao Vitor pounced on a misplaced pass from Sharjah’s defense to cut inside and struck a low drive into the back of the net.

In another match, Laba Kodjo netted a hat-trick to fire Al Ain to a 5-1 victory over Khorfakkan.

Having scored for the second time in a row in the opening matchweek, Kaku fired Al Ain into a deserved lead when he received a pinpoint pass from Matias Palacios, and he made no mistake with his left-footed finish.

Three minutes before the break, Kaku turned from a scorer to a provider as he sent Soufian Rahimi behind Khorfakkan’s defense to fire the ball into the back of the net.

Al Ain continued heaping pressure on Khorfakkan’s defense, and Kodjo opened his 2024-25 season’s tally when he ran onto the six-yard box to head in Rahimi’s cross ten minutes after the break.

The Togolese striker joined the 100th-goal club as he was set up inside the box by Rahimi’s pinpoint pass to drive the ball into the bottom corner.

Jonatan Viera pulled one back for Khorfakkan in the 66th minute, before Kodjo completed his hat-trick with an unstoppable strike from the edge of the penalty area in the 73rd minute.

Al Wasl, the defending champions of the Pro League, stumbled out of the gates in their season opener, drawing 2-2 against a resilient Kalba side.

The result marked a disappointing start for the reigning champions, who were expected to dominate the match.

The game kicked off with an electric atmosphere, as both teams vied for control. Kalba had the first significant chance in the 23rd minute when Mehdi Ghayedi’s shot narrowly missed the target.

The second half saw the action intensify. Fabio De Lima put Al Wasl ahead in the 52nd minute with a well-placed left-footed strike from the edge of the box, marking his fifth goal in opening-round matches for Al Wasl.

Kalba responded swiftly. Just four minutes later, Mehdi Ghayedi leveled the score, pouncing on a rebound after Khalid Ali Aldarmaki’s powerful shot was parried by the Al Wasl goalkeeper. Ghayedi’s goal was his fifth in his last seven league games.

Al Wasl regained the lead in the 67th minute when Fabio De Lima struck again with a clever low free-kick that slipped past Kalba’s goalkeeper Eisa Houti. This marked Lima’s fourth career goal from a free-kick in the league.

As the match neared its final minutes, Kalba intensified their efforts to find an equalizer. Their persistence paid off in the 97th minute when Abdul Sallam Mohameed scored a dramatic equalizer, heading in a perfectly placed free-kick from Filip Kiss. The late goal secured a well-earned point for Kalba and left Al Wasl frustrated.