SHARJAH: Sharjah scored twice in injury time on Tuesday to beat Al-Taawoun 2-1 on aggregate and move into the final of the AFC Champions League Two.
Trailing from the first leg of the semifinal in Saudi Arabia, the team from the UAE were facing defeat until goals in the 94th and 99th minutes turned the tie on its head and broke Al-Taawoun hearts.
The Saudi Pro League team have only themselves to blame as they could have been out of sight after 15 minutes.
Seconds after the start, Sultan Mandash raced free of the defense only to pull his shot just wide. Then, in the third minute, a defensive slip from Cho Yu-min gave Musa Barrow a golden chance just outside the area, but with just Adel Al-Hosani to beat, the Gambian pulled his first-time shot just wide.

Undeterred, the men from Buraidah continued to pour forward in a threatening fashion and were then given a penalty. In the 10th minute, Roger Martinez went down under a challenge in the area from Abdulrahman Shahin and while the referee gave nothing, VAR thought otherwise and the penalty was awarded.
Up stepped Dutch midfielder Aschraf El-Mahdioui, but the midfielder’s low shot was too close to the goalkeeper and too tame and Al-Hosani made the save.
It gave the home team and their fans a real lift. Al-Taawoun almost paid for their wastefulness midway through the first half. Free just inside the box, Ousmane Camara should have scored but his low shot was well saved by Abdulquddus Atiah.
It was then Al-Hosani’s turn to turn away a fierce drive from Faycal Fajr as the first half ended goalless.
The game remained in the balance. Midway through the second half, Luanzinho saw his free kick bounce off the top of the net. Soon after, Atiah had to get down well to make a save from a cross that had bounced through the area.
As Al-Taawoun defended more deeply, Sharjah continued to push forward in search of an equalizer.
It came, four minutes into injury time as Camara bundled home at the far post after Al-Taawoun had failed to deal with a free kick.
Five minutes later, the dramatic turnaround was complete. Caio Lucas slipped the ball into the left side of the area for Firas Ben Larbi to smash a first-time shot home. The home fans went crazy while the visitors sank to the floor in the knowledge that a glorious chance for Asian silverware had been snatched away.
The Emirati club will play either Lion City Sailors of Singapore or Australia’s Sydney FC in the final on May 18.

NAPLES, Italy: Napoli cruised to a 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Empoli on Monday with Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku leading the charge as the hosts kept pace with Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

Second-placed Napoli were feeling the pressure after Inter’s 3-1 home win against Cagliari on Saturday but, with six rounds remaining, they trail the Milan side by three points with 68.

The Napoli duo were unstoppable at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona against Empoli, who are second from bottom and two points off the safety zone. The home side created chance after chance and wreaked havoc on the Empoli defense.

“Romelu is a great teammate. He demands a lot from all the team and me to score more goals and create more opportunities for him to score as well,” McTominay told DAZN.

“He’s obviously a great player. He’s had a great career, and we’re so happy to have him.”

It took 18 minutes for Napoli to open the scoring as Lukaku battled free in midfield and passed to the onrushing McTominay, whose low long-range shot bounced over Empoli goalkeeper Devis Vasquez’s outstretched hand and into the corner of the net.

Belgium striker Lukaku added his name to the scoresheet in the 56th minute, latching onto a perfect through ball inside the box and easily finding the net to double the advantage.

McTominay completed his brace in the 61st, again assisted by Lukaku who whipped a cross in from the right for the unmarked Scotsman to power home a header off the underside of the bar.

The two players linked up again shortly after as Lukaku played in McTominay for a counter-attack but the hat-trick opportunity was thwarted by the inside of the post.

Napoli’s comfortable evening took a hit in front of a noisy home crowd minutes later when Napoli defender Juan Jesus had to go off because of what looked like a hamstring injury.

Lukaku had one more chance just before being substituted but could not quite control David Neres’s cross and sent it wide.

In the dying minutes, McTominay had an opportunity to put the ball in the net again from close range but Vazquez produced a stunning save and the flag was in any case up for offside.

With the season moving toward a thrilling finale, McTominay said the focus must be on themselves despite Inter’s advantage.

“We must have fun and think about ourselves. We’re a strong team and must continue with this playing style and attitude. We must think about ourselves and then we’ll see what Inter will do.”

Napoli have a relatively easy run-in on paper with all of their last six opponents currently 10th or lower in the table. They next travel to bottom club Monza on Saturday.