ABU DHABI // Eric Gerets, the Al Jazira coach, said he intended to continue to experiment with his central defence when they face Al Shabab in four days in their third matches of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
The Belgian left out Juma Abdullah and Musallem Fayez to try out a new pairing of Ismail Al Jasmi and Saif Khalfan in the 3-1 win over Al Ain on Thursday night at the Mohammed bin Zayed stadium.
“I wanted to see how would be the reaction of my central defence having left out Juma and Mussalem. The new pair responded well, but this is only one game but they need to continue to impress,” Gerets said.
“The same central defence will play in four days. Wen not only had the defence, but everyone did a good job in tonight’s win.”
Jazira have the leakiest defence (16) after the two bottom teams Kalba (22) and Ajman (19) in the Arabian Gulf League.
“It was a good game,” Gerets said. “There were chances to score for both teams in the first half, but at a certain moment in the second half when they were becoming better we scored.
“So we are happy with this win, but more than that we are especially satisfied with the way we played.”
Ahmed Al Ghilani opened the scoring and Jonathan Pitroipa, the Burkina Faso international, regained the lead after Miroslav Stoch had struck the equaliser from a spot kick.
Khalfan Al Rezzy sealed the result, scoring Jazira’s third from his first touch after he came in as a substitute for Al Ghilani. The win gave Jazira their first points in the Cup.
After a scoreless first half, on 53 minutes Yasir Matar fired a stunning, low free kick from 35 yards, which the goalkeeper Mohammed Saeed blocked. It allowed Al Ghilani to pounce and knock the loose ball over the line to give the home side the lead.
Al Ain equalised through a Stoch spot kick 14 minutes later after Saif Khalfan felled Ibrahim Diaky when he completely missed a clearance and his boot landed on the Al Ain midfielder.
The visitors earned a second penalty when substitute Mohammed Al Saeedi was fouled in the area, but Stoch’s effort was brilliantly blocked by the Jazira keeper Khaled Al Senani. Pitroipa then scored on 78 minutes, with Al Rezzy sealing the deal five minutes later.
“We didn’t do anything special in this game,” said Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain coach.
“After conceding a goal, our game went down. We didn’t keep possession and we didn’t keep a good formation.
“I can understand the mistakes from my players as they haven’t had a chance to play for a long time. Yet I expect all my players to perform when they are provided with the opportunity.”
Al Dhafra topple holders Al Ahli
Al Dhafra proved to be a thorn in Al Ahli’s side again on Thursday, winning 2-1 at Rashid Stadium in the Arabian Gulf Cup after earning a 2-2 draw against them in the Arabian Gulf League two weeks ago.
Goals from Abdullah Abdulqader and Makhete Diop gave Dhafra a 2-0 lead after 24 minutes, reminiscent of their league meeting. Luis Jimenez pulled a goal back for the holders on 57 minutes, after exchanging passes with Saeed Ahmed, but, unlike their previous meeting, Ahli failed to complete the comeback. Dhafra moved top of Group B on six points.
Elsewhere, Fujairah and Sharjah had a 0-0 draw at Fujairah Stadium to give the hosts their first point in Group B.
apassela@thenational.ae
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