Ajman stun Sharjah; Shabab Al Ahli win

Waleed Azaro struck deep into stoppage time to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory for Ajman over Sharjah in a five-goal thriller on Friday.

The late winner capped an enthralling contest and lifted Ajman to sixth place on 23 points, while Sharjah drop to ninth with 17.

Azaro opened the scoring after 22 minutes with a moment of individual quality. Collecting the ball outside the area, he cut inside, evaded defender Shaheen Abdalla and calmly slotted into the bottom corner to give the hosts the lead.

Ajman doubled their advantage nine minutes later in fortunate fashion. Lithierry Silva whipped in a dangerous, swerving cross that deceived the goalkeeper and drifted all the way into the net to make it 2-0.

Sharjah responded almost immediately. Just two minutes after conceding, Caio Lucas unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box that flew past the goalkeeper, who could only watch as it crashed in.

Lucas then completed the comeback from the penalty spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and stroking the ball into the bottom corner to level the score at 2-2.

With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Azaro delivered the decisive blow in stoppage time. Twisting past his marker inside the area, he created just enough space before firing an emphatic effort into the top corner to spark wild celebrations.

Ajman’s late heroics strengthen their push up the table, while Sharjah are left to rue missed opportunities after battling back from two goals down.

Meanwhile, Shabab Al Ahli moved top of the ADNOC Pro League table with a dominant 5-0 victory over Al Dhafra on a festive Ramadan night at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium.

The Dubai-based side produced a ruthless attacking display to claim three crucial points, lifting them to 41 points at the summit, while Al Dhafra remain 10th on 17 points.

The visitors needed just nine minutes to break the deadlock. Breno Cascardo Lemos surged down the left flank, gliding past two defenders before unselfishly squaring for Mohammed Almansoori, who tapped into an empty net to give Shabab Al Ahli an early advantage.

Al Dhafra struggled to contain the visitors’ intensity, and just before the interval Saeid Ezatolahi doubled the lead. The midfielder kept his composure in stoppage time of the first half, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to put his side firmly in control.

Shabab Al Ahli continued to press after the restart and were rewarded with a moment of quality as Guilherme Da Silva produced a sublime strike that flew beyond the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Amjad Alsayed to make it 3-0.

The fourth arrived soon after, as Shabab Al Ahli capitalised on defensive lapses to extend their advantage with a clinical close-range finish, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback.

Almansoori then completed his brace in the 77th minute. Sardar Khalil Azmoum showed neat footwork inside the area before squaring the ball for Almansoori, who calmly slotted home to seal an emphatic 5-0 win.

Dubai: Waleed Azaro struck deep into stoppage time to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory for Ajman over Sharjah in a five-goal thriller on Friday.

The late winner capped an enthralling contest and lifted Ajman to sixth place on 23 points, while Sharjah drop to ninth with 17.

Azaro opened the scoring after 22 minutes with a moment of individual quality. Collecting the ball outside the area, he cut inside, evaded defender Shaheen Abdalla and calmly slotted into the bottom corner to give the hosts the lead.

Ajman doubled their advantage nine minutes later in fortunate fashion. Lithierry Silva whipped in a dangerous, swerving cross that deceived the goalkeeper and drifted all the way into the net to make it 2-0.

Sharjah responded almost immediately. Just two minutes after conceding, Caio Lucas unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box that flew past the goalkeeper, who could only watch as it crashed in.

Lucas then completed the comeback from the penalty spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and stroking the ball into the bottom corner to level the score at 2-2.

With the game seemingly heading for a draw, Azaro delivered the decisive blow in stoppage time. Twisting past his marker inside the area, he created just enough space before firing an emphatic effort into the top corner to spark wild celebrations.

Ajman’s late heroics strengthen their push up the table, while Sharjah are left to rue missed opportunities after battling back from two goals down.

Meanwhile, Shabab Al Ahli moved top of the ADNOC Pro League table with a dominant 5-0 victory over Al Dhafra on a festive Ramadan night at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium.

The Dubai-based side produced a ruthless attacking display to claim three crucial points, lifting them to 41 points at the summit, while Al Dhafra remain 10th on 17 points.

The visitors needed just nine minutes to break the deadlock. Breno Cascardo Lemos surged down the left flank, gliding past two defenders before unselfishly squaring for Mohammed Almansoori, who tapped into an empty net to give Shabab Al Ahli an early advantage.

Al Dhafra struggled to contain the visitors’ intensity, and just before the interval Saeid Ezatolahi doubled the lead. The midfielder kept his composure in stoppage time of the first half, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to put his side firmly in control.

Shabab Al Ahli continued to press after the restart and were rewarded with a moment of quality as Guilherme Da Silva produced a sublime strike that flew beyond the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Amjad Alsayed to make it 3-0.

The fourth arrived soon after, as Shabab Al Ahli capitalised on defensive lapses to extend their advantage with a clinical close-range finish, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback.

Almansoori then completed his brace in the 77th minute. Sardar Khalil Azmoum showed neat footwork inside the area before squaring the ball for Almansoori, who calmly slotted home to seal an emphatic 5-0 win.