Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Leaders Sharjah will take on a resilient Al Nasr in a ninth round match of the Arabian Gulf League at Al Maktoum Stadium on Saturday. Sharjah, who are at the top of the standings with 20 points from eight games, and are unbeaten with six wins and two draws, will look to remain unconquered.

Al Nasr, meanwhile, who have 14 points from eight games after two wins, two draws and as many losses, will look to grab full three points to rise in the standings. An animated coach Kronuslav Jurchic predicted a tough match against Sharjah.

“It is another strong and important match against Sharjah. This game is an important game, as any other, and I am excited to face the leaders. Such matches have a special nature, and everyone is watching with passion, especially the players,” said Jurchic.

“Sharjah are a great and organised team, with a wonderful coach and distinguished players. Last season, they came up with strong results across all the domestic tournaments, Jurcic added.

“And this season too, they seem to be destined to finish at the top. But we will strive to provide a strong resistance and get out of the match with a positive result, especially on the heels of our strong performance against Al Ain in which we were able to snatch a draw after trailing 2-0 at one stage.

“The atmosphere is now very positive and the morale is high in the team, and everyone is waiting for the next match against the league leaders,” he stressed.

Jurchic avers that the tournament is wide open and four or five teams are serious contenders. “There are four or five strong teams, competing fiercely for the leading positions in the league. All these teams are strong and will do everything in their capacity to continue to achieve victories and go on to establish their supremacy at the top of the table.

“I do believe though that Al Nasr are a strong team and as such will always strive to be a dominant force. We now have a group of great players doing their best and working with discipline and seriousness, and I think we will be able to achieve what I had mentioned in the first press conference with the team.

“The presence of fans is very important for the team. Al Nasr now have fighting players, but it’s important that our fans will make their presence felt in the stands, and lend support to the players, because they deserve support,” he concluded.

Al Nasr’s Habib Al Fardan also spoke about the upcoming match against Sharjah, saying: “We have a difficult match against the Sharjah, which is the most stable team in the league, as they have been consistently offering strong opposition throughout the current and past seasons, having lost only a few games. However, we strive to do our best and provide a level comparable to what we achieved in the Al Ain match, to get a positive result.”