Dubai: Riding on a first-half hat-trick by Nilmar, Al Nasr stormed to a 4-1 win over Sharjah in Round 17 of the Arabian Gulf League on Saturday at the Al Maktoum Stadium.
Jires Kembo-Ekoko completed the tally for the winners through a penalty while Nawaf Mubarak scored a spectacular consolation goal for Sharjah.
Al Nasr, with this win, now have 32 points are are currently placed third in the standings while Sharjah, with 18 points remain one place above the relegation zone.
Al Nasr took the lead as early as in the third minute. Luis Jimenez stole a ball from Abdullah Ahmad and set up Nilmar, who came up with a power-packed shot that settled into the far corner of Rashid Ahmad’s goal.
A pumped-up Nilmar made it 2-0 in the 14th minute as he hammered home a rebound following Jimenez’s volley that found the framework in its way. The Brazilian would have scored his hat-trick two minutes later had it not been for a brilliant save from Ahmad. However, in the 36th minute, a persistent Nilmar completed his hat-trick after he nodded home Jimenez’s free kick and Al Nasr led 3-0. By the 44th minute, Al Nasr had piled on more misery on Sharjah as they widened the lead to 4-0 through a penalty. Jonathan Pitroipa was brought down inside the box and Kembo-Ekoko came up with a low chip to find the net.
Nilmar and Kembo-Ekoko kept probing and continued to keep up the pressure on Sharjah even after the change of ends.
For Sharjah, Mubarak made some long-range attempts but Ahmad Shambih was up for the challenge under the bar. Nawaf, however, acored a consolation goal for Sharjah through a free-kick they won following a foul from Amer Mubarak. It was a high-quality strike that curled in sharply to leave Shambih rooted.
