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Sharjah 1-2 Al Shabab: Maximum points for Al Shabab

Al Shabab made it two wins out of two with an impressive 2-1 victory away at Sharjah on Saturday evening. Marcos Paqueta’s men were often under attack from the home side but goals from Abdulla Faraj and Adeilson were enough to seal the win despite a late consolation from Fellype Gabriel, giving Al Shabab six points in the Arabian Gulf League after Round 2. 

Al Shabab had to be on guard as Sharjah pressed in attack from the offset, mounting considerable pressure in the box during the early stages. Fellype Gabriel, Ahmed Khamis and Ze Carlos all threatened going forward, and Kim Jong-Woo attempted to break the deadlock from distance but his effort sailed over the crossbar. Nasser Masood teed up Edgar for Al Shabab’s best chance of the opening period just after the half hour mark but his header couldn’t find the back of the net, and Adeilson, who scored a brace on his Al Shabab debut in Round One, was well marshaled by Sharjah’s Bader Abdulrahman as the game remained goalless at half time.

Sharjah continued to pile on the pressure in the second half as the home side went in search of an opening goal. In the 55th minute a clever ball from Ze Carlos released Ahmed Khamis but the Emirati winger elected to square the ball in the box instead of take on the shot himself, and none of his teammates were in position to benefit from the delivery. But it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 59th minute, as Abdulla Faraj’s thunderous free kick from distance took a deflection off Fellype Gabriel’s head in the wall and flew into the top left-hand corner to make it 1-0 to Al Shabab. In the 69th minute Edgar Bruno went agonizingly close to getting a second for Al Shabab with a fine display of individual skill, but his curling left-footed shot skewed just wide of the post. In the 72nd minute the visitors did double their lead with another deflected goal, this time from Adeilson, who scored his third in two League games with the help of a nick off an outstretched Sharjah defender’s leg. Ze Carlos tried to immediately hit back for Sharjah with a free kick on the edge of the D, but Edgar Bruno did his job in the wall by heading away the danger. Fellype Gabriel did manage to pull one back for Sharjah from a free kick in the same place ten minutes later, giving Sharjah seven minutes plus four minutes of added time to try and find an equaliser but it was too little, too late as Al Shabab held on for all three points.