Sharjah\u2019s treble domestic assault on silverware will continue on Friday in the Arabian Gulf Cup quarter-finals.
\nThe King have embraced their hunt for glory this term, sitting top of the 2020\/21 Arabian Gulf League after suffering only one loss and storming into the President\u2019s Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 dismantling of Al Dhafra. They next host Al Wasl, rejuvenated by last month\u2019s poaching of coveted coach Odair Hellmann from Fluminense, in this weekend\u2019s AG Cup last-eight opener.
\n\u201cIt is an important tournament for us through which we seek to continue our strong performances,\u201d said boss Abdulaziz Al Anbari, whose club has never lifted this trophy. \u201cThe new [knockout] system requires careful handling and high concentration of all players.\u201d
\nBani Yas, meanwhile, will hope to extend dreams of converting an encouraging campaign into silverware when they meet fellow dark horses Ittihad Kalba.
\nThe Sky Blues limped home ninth in the top flight last term and exited the AG Cup in the \u2013 now-defunct \u2013 group stage. Former Romania Under-21 tactician Daniel Isaila has transformed ambitions for a side currently in fourth and who have won six of their last seven fixtures in all competitions.
\nOpponents Kalba sit an exceptional seventh in the table, though they\u2019ve drawn their last three fixtures in the absence of suspended Togo hit man Peniel Mlapa.
\n\u201cWe are optimistic and the atmosphere is great among the players, as we are going through a good period,\u201d said Isaila ahead of Friday\u2019s first leg at Bani Yas Stadium. \u201cWe are still competing on all fronts and we are waiting for this tournament because it is one of our goals.\u201d
\nShabab Al Ahli Dubai Club could hand an immediate debut to UAE Under-21 winger Yahya Al Ghassani at Khor Fakkan, after Monday\u2019s move from Al Wahda. Thursday\u2019s other tie will see third-placed Al Nasr host a Fujairah outfit who\u2019ve lost six of their last seven matches, in all competitions.
\nAG CUP QUARTER-FINALS
\nFirst legs
\nThursday
\n17:00 Khor Fakkan v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club
\n20:00 Al Nasr v Fujairah
\nFriday
\n17:00 Bani Yas v Ittihad Kalba
\n20:00 Sharjah v Al Wasl
\nSecond legs
\nJanuary 25
\n17:15 Fujairah v Al Nasr
\n20:00 Ittihad Kalba v Bani Yas
\nJanuary 26
\n17:15 Shabab Al Ahli v Khor Fakkan
\n20:00 Al Wasl v Sharjah<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sharjah\u2019s treble domestic assault on silverware will continue on Friday in the Arabian Gulf Cup quarter-finals.
\nThe King have embraced their hunt for glory this term, sitting top of the 2020\/21 Arabian Gulf League after suffering only one loss and storming into the President\u2019s Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 dismantling of Al Dhafra. They next host Al Wasl, rejuvenated by last month\u2019s poaching of coveted coach Odair Hellmann from Fluminense, in this weekend\u2019s AG Cup last-eight opener.
\n\u201cIt is an important tournament for us through which we seek to continue our strong performances,\u201d said boss Abdulaziz Al Anbari, whose club has never lifted this trophy. \u201cThe new [knockout] system requires careful handling and high concentration of all players.\u201d
\nBani Yas, meanwhile, will hope to extend dreams of converting an encouraging campaign into silverware when they meet fellow dark horses Ittihad Kalba.
\nThe Sky Blues limped home ninth in the top flight last term and exited the AG Cup in the \u2013 now-defunct \u2013 group stage. Former Romania Under-21 tactician Daniel Isaila has transformed ambitions for a side currently in fourth and who have won six of their last seven fixtures in all competitions.
\nOpponents Kalba sit an exceptional seventh in the table, though they\u2019ve drawn their last three fixtures in the absence of suspended Togo hit man Peniel Mlapa.
\n\u201cWe are optimistic and the atmosphere is great among the players, as we are going through a good period,\u201d said Isaila ahead of Friday\u2019s first leg at Bani Yas Stadium. \u201cWe are still competing on all fronts and we are waiting for this tournament because it is one of our goals.\u201d
\nShabab Al Ahli Dubai Club could hand an immediate debut to UAE Under-21 winger Yahya Al Ghassani at Khor Fakkan, after Monday\u2019s move from Al Wahda. Thursday\u2019s other tie will see third-placed Al Nasr host a Fujairah outfit who\u2019ve lost six of their last seven matches, in all competitions.
\nAG CUP QUARTER-FINALS
\nFirst legs
\nThursday
\n17:00 Khor Fakkan v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club
\n20:00 Al Nasr v Fujairah
\nFriday
\n17:00 Bani Yas v Ittihad Kalba
\n20:00 Sharjah v Al Wasl
\nSecond legs
\nJanuary 25
\n17:15 Fujairah v Al Nasr
\n20:00 Ittihad Kalba v Bani Yas
\nJanuary 26
\n17:15 Shabab Al Ahli v Khor Fakkan
\n20:00 Al Wasl v Sharjah<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19167,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19166\/revisions\/19167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}