Al-Jazira secured a 2-0 victory over Sharjah in the Pro-League's Regular Season round two on Saturday. Vinicius Mello scored both goals, putting the visitors in a commanding position before half-time and extending their lead shortly after the restart. Sharjah finished with ten men after H. Suhail received a red card in stoppage time.
Mello opened the scoring in the 45th minute, slotting home at 45+2, and doubled it just after the break at 63. By then, Sharjah had already been forced to make changes, with A. Ramadan replacing someone at 46 and C. Pickel coming off at 59 after picking up a yellow card. The hosts tried to fight back but found themselves chasing the game.
What's interesting is Sharjah dominated possession at 56 per cent and registered 89 attacks compared to Al-Jazira's 52. And here's the thing: despite having more shots on target (4 versus 2) and a higher expected goals figure (1.33 to 0.82), they couldn't find the net. To be fair, Al-Jazira created three big chances while the hosts managed zero.
The statistics tell a strange story. Sharjah completed 351 passes against 278, attempted 21 crosses to Al-Jazira's six, and won 15 aerial duels out of 32. Yet the visitors' goalkeeper made three saves while Sharjah's keeper had none to make. Sharjah also had 16 fouls and one yellow card, while Al-Jazira committed 20 fouls and collected three yellows before Suhail's dismissal.
Al-Jazira's substitutions came in waves: Igor Coronado and Julimar at 73, Vinicius Mello himself at 79, and Malcom at 90+3. Sharjah responded with Luan Pereira and Caio Lucas at 84, then Milson and M. Meloni at 87. The match ended with M. Jatta also receiving a yellow card at 90+4 alongside Suhail's sending-off.
The result leaves Al-Jazira top of the table on nine points from three games, while Sharjah sit seventh with six points after two victories and one defeat. The visitors have kept their perfect record intact, though the red card will give Sharjah cause for concern heading into their next fixture.