Al Jazira 1 Al Ahli 2
Al Jazira Mabkhout (pen) 65'
Al Ahli Sow 14', Myung-Won Kwon 53'
Man of the match Everton Ribeiro (Ahli)
ABU DHABI // Moussa Sow and Kwon Kyung-won scored on either side of half time on Sunday night and Al Ahli retained their place on top of the Arabian Gulf League leader board ahead of their meeting with Al Ain this week.
Ali Mabkhout of Al Jazira pulled one back from a penalty but that was as close as they got at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
Fares Juma, the Jazira centre-back, tried to clear a long ball but only succeeded in punting it towards his own area. Sow was there to knock in past a hapless goalkeeper Ali Kasheif.
Kwon exchanged passes with Everton Ribeiro before he curled it with a left footer to beat Kasheif on the near post to double the lead before the intermission.
Jazira reduced the lead from a penalty after Sow brought down Khalfan Mubarak inside the area to keep the game alive until the end.
Jazira suffered a huge blow when Park Jong-woo, the Korean midfielder, was sent off for two yellow cards. The first was for pulling down Brazilian Ceil in the 37th minute and for a handoff on Ismail Al Hammadi two minutes later.
However, parity was restored to 10 men on each side when Ahli midfielder Salmin Khamis was sent off after his second caution during added time of the first half.
Man of the match
Al Ahli’s Everton Ribeiro made an assist in the second goal but more than that contribution, the Brazilian played a pivotal role in his team’s attack and created several chances for the Dubai club.
What they said
Cosmin Olaroiu, the Ahli coach: “We are happy to return with full points ahead of an important match coming up [against Al Ain]. We created quite a lot of chances but managed to score only two, but this is not unusual in football.
“We still have a long way to go after the game against Al Ain. We have less time to prepare for our next game and they too will have the same problem having played on the same night.”
Henk ten Cate, Jazira coach: “It was the boys against the men on the night. We missed too many players to give them a good competition. They were better and physically stronger, especially in the second half. We were tired.
“We came after a difficult game in Saudi Arabia [against Al Hilal in the Asian Champions League]. So we couldn’t really make things happen.
“We played all the best teams in the league and now left with those below us. But every game is going to be difficult for us, so we need to really work hard and fight to get good results.
“It is funny to say, it’s our bad luck we qualified for the ACL because we don’t have a big player group with a lot of quality, and play two or three games a week, it is very hard. We can’t rest players.”
The National’s verdict
Ahli achieved their objective of staying ahead in the league before their meeting with Al Ain on Thursday. Sunday night was the appetiser for a match that could decide the league title.
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Al Ain held to draw with Al Nasr at home
A late goal from substitute Ibrahim Diaky was not enough as Al Ain were held to a 1-1 draw on Sunday night by Al Nasr at home that saw the Garden City club wilt in their chase of Al Ahli for the league title.
Before the game, coach Zlatan Dalic had called for his Al Ain team to treat each of the remaining games “like a cup final” but the performance at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium left much to be desired.
Al Ain had a goal disallowed in the 22nd minute and after a goalless first half, it was Masoud Sulaiman who headed in from a corner for Al Nasr in the 52nd minute.
Minutes later, the Abdulrahman midfielders, Omar and Mohammed, came under pressure and were cautioned in the space of a minute prompting Dalic to effect substitutions. Danilo Asprilla and Diaky made their way into the middle even as Al Ain had a lucky reprieve when former Al Ain striker Jires Kembo-Ekoko saw a penalty saved by Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eissa.
Al Ain also enjoyed a man adavantage when Tariq Ahmed sent off for two fouls in the 65th minute. Six minutes before time, Diaky found the equaliser when he chested and slot home a corner from Omar.
Al Ain’s performance at home on Sunday may have raised serious concern on their title ambitions. They now travel to Dubai where they take on leaders Ahli on Friday in what will be a battle royale between the league’s top two teams.
apassela@thenational.ae
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