Today's Edition
Abu Dhabi (ALETIHAD)
Al Wahda’s Lucas Pimenta and Igor Coronado of Sharjah proved last-minute heroes as their respective sides rallied to win their opening clashes as hosts in the first group matches of the Asian Champions League Elite division on Monday.
Coronado struck deep into injury time in Sharjah to complete a thrilling 4-3 win over 10-man Al Gharafa of Qatar, while Pimenta provided the last-gasp matchwinner in a 2-1 victory at Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan Stadium. Both goals came two minutes from the final whistle after 10 minutes of added time.
Steven Bergwijn put Saudi club Al Ittihad ahead against the run of play in the 21st minute before Caio Canedo levelled in the 62nd minute and Pimenta capitalised on their 10-men rivals to snatch the three points for Jose Morais’ men.
Al Wahda kept pushing before and after the break and were rewarded when Canedo rolled home the equaliser past a flailing Predrag Rajkovic from the edge of the six-yard box after latching onto a pass from Omar Khrbin. Pimenta then pounced on a rebound to slot home the winner from close range after Rajkovic saved Ala Zhir’s header in the dying minutes of the match.
Two goals down, Sharjah looked beaten at the interval but halved the deficit on the hour mark to spark a revival. Ousmane Camara was brought down by Seydou Sano’s challenge and, although Khalifa Ababacar saved Rey Manaj’s penalty, the Albanian striker converted the rebound.
Two minutes later, Al Gharafa’s defence made a mess of clearing Coronado’s cross from the right and this time it was Camara who thumped his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards out.
Thirteen minutes later, a perfectly weighted pass by Gharafa’s Yousef Brahimi released Joselu into the area and the Spanish striker put his first-time effort past goalkeeper Darwish Mohammad to put Gharafa in the front.
With the clock ticking into injury time, Ababacar was shown a red card for a clumsy foul on Manaj who converted with his free-kick. Nine minutes later, substitute Coronado sealed the three points for Sharjah with a left-foot finish past the stand-in goalkeeper Amine Lecomte-Addani.
Shabab Al Ahli Start at Home Shabab Al Ahli and Tractor club will both be out to mark their return to the top tier of Asian club football with victory when they square off in their opening Elite tie on Tuesday.
The ADNOC Pro League winners and domestic champions will take on their counterparts from Iran. Tractor, who won their first domestic title last season, also have an unbeaten run to protect - having not suffered defeat in their last five encounters against teams from the UAE.
They will have to watch out for Sardar Azmoun, with the Iranian striker netting nine goals for Shabab Al Ahli in the AFC Champions League Two last season.
