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Etisalat Emirates Cup thriller
An injury time goal by Ebrahim Diaky completed his hat-trick and sealed a 3-2 win for Al Jazira over a gritty Al Khaleej side in the Etisalat Emirates Cup on Friday.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:53 October 10, 2008
Abu Dhabi: An injury time goal by Ebrahim Diaky completed his hat-trick and sealed a 3-2 win for Al Jazira over a gritty Al Khaleej side in the Etisalat Emirates Cup on Friday.
Playing in Khor Fakkan, hosts Al Khaleej gave Al Jazira a tough time and almost took revenge for the 6-1 drubbing they received at the hands of the visitors in the UFL League match last month. Al Khaleej even missed a penalty in the first half when the game was goalless.
Al Jazira's coach Abel Braga had warned his star-studded side not to take Al Khaleej lightly even though they had lost all three of their league matches so far this season.
But Al Khaleej played like a completely different side to one that had done so poorly in the league.
Abbas Mowiwa Lawal, their short-statured Nigerian striker, led from the front in an effective display.
Patrick Kazadi served Al Jazira with an early warning when his free-kick missed narrowly.
Penalty award
In the 14th minute Al Khaleej were awarded a penalty when Brazilian defender Rozario brought down Kazadi.
But the home supported fell silent as the side blew the chance to take the lead when Abbas's was saved by Al Jazira keeper Ali Koshef.
Abbas was again in the thick of the action when a fierce shot by him was saved by Ali and in the 30th minute his free-kick was also kept out by the keeper.
Al Jazira's first real attempt came in the 31st minute when Brazilian star Rafael Sobis took a crack from about 30 yards but Al Khaleej goalkeeper Jaber Jasem saved.
The game came alive in the second half when Diaky scored in the 47th minute and it looked like the visitors would run amok. But a classy strike by Abbas made amends for his miss and put his side level.
Jazira struck again when Abdul Salam Juma's pass to Fernando Baiano was diverted to Diaky who made no mistake.
But two minutes later Tareq Bilal headed home as Al Khaleej equalised again.
Jazira grew desperate and two attempts by Sobis came close to giving them a winner but the first missed narrowly and Jasem saved the second.
Just when a draw looked likely, Jazira strung together another move that was finished off by Diaky when a met a cross from Baiano to complete his hat-trick.
In a Group A match, Al Dhafra and Sharjah drew 1-1. Salem Al Minhali gave hosts Al Dhafra the lead in the 19th minute and Sharjah equalised through Mousa Hatab.
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