DUBAI // After an indifferent first session, Sharjah came out firing in the second half to force a 3-0 victory over Kalba at the Al Nasr Club last night.
Marcelo Oliveira gave Sharjah the lead in the 49th minute, Humaid Abdullah doubled the tally nine minutes later, and Oliveira completed the scoring in extra time with his second goal.
That was more than enough to secure the victory for Sharjah on a hot, humid night.
Kalba, promoted to the top echelon this season after six years of trying, were forced to play their "home" game against Sharjah at Al Nasr in Dubai because their ground is not ready yet.
For the early parts of the match, they seemed comfortable in their home away from home, dictating the pace. But, overall, the game failed to rise above the mundane.
The stands were virtually empty, with only a handful of Sharjah supporters arriving for the game.
The proceedings on the field betrayed a similar disinterest.
The first real threatening move, from either side, did not arrive till the 17th minute and it fizzled out as Abdulla Baba failed to reach a well-measured cross by Moustapha Dabo from the right.
In the 21st minute, Juma Sanqoor gave the Sharjah defence an anxious moment when he blasted the ball just over the crossbar.
Mahmoud Almas, the Sharjah goalkeeper, was then forced to make three saves within seconds of each other in the 35th minute.
First he snuffed Babe's volley following a counter-attack; next, he slid in to block Dabo's shot; and then punched Salim Jasim's volley away for a corner. After their lethargic showing in the first half, Sharjah returned to take the lead just four minutes into the second half.
Roberto Brito Luciano, a Brazilian known as "Robinho" (but, no, not the Manchester City Robinho), crossed the ball in from the left and his Brazilian counterpart, Oliveira, rose at the far post to nod the ball home.
Robinho was instrumental in the second goal as well, again finding a teammate with a cross. Marcelo sold a dummy and Abdullah managed a faint touch on the ball as he lost his footing and it trickled into the net.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Sharjah
Oliveira 49', 90+1', Abdullah 58'
Man of the match
Marcelo Oliveira (Sharjah)
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Teams
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shanwari, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhomme, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Seth Rance, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
SPECS
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Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
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