Sharjah taking nothing for granted in AGL race

The King want to stay focused on hunt for sixth crown

Sharjah coach Abdul Aziz Al Anbari has called on his team to be mindful of tougher challenges looming ahead in their charge towards a sixth Arabian Gulf League (AGL) crown.

Champions in the inaugural campaign of the league in 1973-74, Sharjah went on to add another four titles with their last one coming up at the end of the 1995-96 season. This year, The King have been on a roll as they lead the 14-team standings with an unbeaten record so far after 15 rounds.

On Thursday night, Sharjah rode on a 74th-minute strike from Ryan Mendes to further consolidate their place at the top with a hardearned 1-0 away win against 10-man Al Nasr. That win took Sharjah to 37 points, chased down by defending champions Al Ain (32 points), while Al Jazira remained in third with 31 points following their 5-0 romp over Fujairah earlier on Thursday.

“Sharjah deserved to win. We knew it would have been tough against a strong team like Al Nasr, but we also knew that we had to keep on pressing for a goal. Once we finally got the goal we wanted we knew we fully deserved the three points tonight,” Al Anbari said.

“We need to be on the watch for many more such encounters in the future. We are at the top of the standings and everyone wants to win against us. It’s not going to get any easier from now on for sure,” he confided.

‘No easy points’

The Sharjah coach said there are a few aspects his team needs to work on if they are to remain title contenders.

“We have another eleven matches to go in the league and I am sure no point is going to come easy to us,” Al Anbari said.