Al Jazira win against all odds

Abu Dhabi: The second leg of the finals of the 23rd GCC Clubs Championship at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium on Monday night was a crazy match, according to Ladislau Boloni, the head coach of Al Jazira.

Al Jazira hosted reigning champions Al Ittifag from Saudi Arabia, who had won the first leg 2-0.

The home team looked set to overcome the two- goal deficit when they took the lead after only 11 minutes of play.

They however waited till the fifth minute of injury time when Abdul Salam Jumaa unleashed a miraculous shot to level the aggregate.

Khaseef's mistake

Al Jazira went on to score a third goal in the first half of extra time with the visitors reduced to 10 men.

The last minute of the match witnessed the first mistake of their young goalkeeper Ali Khaseef, who was one of the best players in the game, who was caught napping only for the visitors to score their only goal of the match which tied the score.

Khaseef made amends for his mistake and became the hero when he saved twice from the penalty spot in the sudden death shootouts to help his team win their first title, other than winning the Second Division title some year earlier.

Al Jazira are the third local club to win the regional title after Al Shabab and Al Ain. Al Ittifag have won the title three times.

"It was a crazy match." Boloni said after the match.

"In the final seconds fortunes were fluctuating for both teams. But I am thankful and grateful for the efforts of my players. They were under tremendous pressures because they started the match trailing 2-0. It was fantastic how they came to cover the first defeat and go on to win the title."

"It was a difficult match against a good team. I do believe that winning the GCC title will motivate the players to do better in the domestic competition this season.

"I am especially grateful to my players Abdul Salam, Diyaki and Toni who completed the match while suffering from pulled muscles because of their great effort during the long match."

The Saudi delegation refused at first to play the shootouts arguing that their goal, in extra time should be counted as two goals because it was scored in the opponent's field.

The fact that it was scored in extratime means that the additional 30 minutes is a separate match with each goal for each team counted as a single goal.

Al Jazira have to cut their celebrations short and train for their crucial league match on Friday against their neighbours and traditional rivals Al Wahda in the Abu Dhabi Derby.