Arabian Gulf League matchweek 4 Roundup
Competition at the top end of the Arabian Gulf League table heated up after previous leaders Al Wahda conceded their first defeat of the season as Al Wasl, Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli all collected the full points in matchweek 4.
Al Wasl find themselves top of the table with ten points, level with Al Ain, while Al Wahda and Shabab Al Ahli are one point behind. Al Nasr occupy fifth place with seven points to their name, followed by Dibba at sixth with six points and Al Dhafra at seventh with one less point. Champions Al Jazira are level with last season's relegation survivors Emirates on four points while Hatta have three points. Sharjah with one point and Ajman with none occupy the bottom two places in the table.
The six weekend encounters saw a solitary draw at Al Dhafra who clawed back a two-goal deficit to draw with Al Jazira. Home sides won four games; Hatta got their first win at home against Sharjah 3-2, Al Wasl edged Al Wahda 2-1, Al Nasr beat Dibba 3-0 while Shabab Al Ahli demolished Emirates 4-0. The only away win of matchweek 4 came at Rashid bin Saeed Stadium where Al Ain came from behind to beat Ajman 3-2.
Matchweek 4 saw the highest goal scoring ratio this season, with 25 goals scored in six games, averaging over four goals a game for the first time. Hatta's win over Sharjah and Al Ain victory at Ajman were the highest scoring games with five goals in each.
Shabab Al Ahli's Senegalese striker Makhete Diop and Al Wasl's Brazilian Fabio de Lima top the goal-scoring charts with six goals each. Al Dhafra's Ailton Almeida follows with five goals.
In terms of refereeing decisions, matchweek 4 saw two penalty kicks awarded. Welliton Soares scored one for Sharjah against Hatta and Diop converted the second against Emirates whose winger Al Husain Saleh was the only player to be sent-off this weekend, while 26 others were booked.
Sharjah and Ajman remain the only two winless sides after the end of matchweek 4. Sharjah are the weakest attack, having scored just three goals, two of which from the penalty spot. Hatta, on the other end, have shipped a league-high 13 goals in four games. Shabab Al Ahli have the competition's most lethal attack force with 12 goals scored and also its top defence with just goals conceded, a record they share with Al Wahda.
