Al Jazira bring Al Ahli crashing down

Dubai: Al Ahli was made to pay for a series of missed opportunities as they were humbled at home 2-0 by former champions Al Jazira in their second round of the Etisalat Pro League here late on Friday.

After raising expectations with their 6-3 thrashing of defending champions Al Ain last week, Al Ahli were in for a rude shock with Argentinean play-maker Matias Delgado finding an early goal in the tenth minute before limping off four minutes later with a strained muscle, while Ebrahim Diakhy got the second three minutes from the hour from a penalty kick.

The win was enough to put Al Jazira’s season back on track following last week’s injury time 1-2 loss at home to Al Nasr, and prior to that the even bigger heartache of losing on penalties in the Super Cup for a second successive year.

Al Ahli will have no reason to complain for this loss as they created optimum number of chances throughout the 90 minutes, but they seemed to fumble once before the goal.
After holding sway early, the home goal crumbled in the tenth minute when a fine one-two between Oliveira saw Delgado smash in a first-time shot giving Obaid Al Tawillah little chance.

Though Delgado was replaced for a muscle pull barely four minutes after scoring, the visitors nearly got a second in the 21st minute when a Da Silva strike whizzed past the upright.

The 32nd minute could have fetched the home side the equalizer, but Grafite shot wide in haste with only goalkeeper Ali Khasief at his mercy. Three minutes later, the home side had one more opportunity going abegging when Basheer Saeed’s free kick was saved by Khasief with his feet.

Al Ahli came close to scoring again in the 43rd minute when Chilean Luis Jimenez laid for Achille Emana inside the box, but Ali Khasief was equally up to the challenge.
The home side continued pressing for a much-needed equalizer and the fleet-footed Amir Mubarak was guilty of missing two chances on the trot within the first ten minutes of the second half.

In the 46th minute, Mubarak was fed well by Grafite, but the former UAE national team midfielder missed the mark narrowly. And then in the 54th minute Amir Mubarak was once again the culprit from the edge of the area.

Just when it looked like Al Ahli might get an equalizer, the visitors got a bonus in the 63rd minute after Lebanese defender Yousuf Mohammad fouled Da Silva and skipper Ebrahim Diakhy placed in the far corner to double the lead. Al Ahli tried till the very end, but a goal remained elusive with Grafite the worst offender.

In earlier matches, Al Ain recovered from last week’s 6-3 spanking at the hands of Al Ahli, to secure an emphatic 4-1 win over Ajman Club, Dubai Club maintained their unbeaten record with a 3-2 win over debutants Al Shaab and Bani Yas rode past Ittihad Kalba 2-0.

RESULTS:

Al Ain bt Ajman Club 4-1
Dubai Club bt Al Shaab 3-2
Bani Yas vs Ittihad Kalba 2-0
Al Jazira bt Al Ahli 2-0