Al Jazira seek to build on Cup success

Dubai: The new Etisalat Cup champions are hoping Friday's triumph will only be the start of many further successes for Al Jazira when the new season begins in September.

"Maybe this [the trophy] was meant to be with us for some time now. We tried but failed to win anything this season, and we are all excited to be signing off this year with the Etisalat Cup," said Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khasif after his side's 2-0 win against Ajman Club.

Al Jazira lifted the etisalat Cup at Al Nasr Club's Al Maktoum Stadium late on Friday following the win.

Al Jazira, who earlier this month ended runners-up in the UAE Football League (UFL) for the third successive year, waited till the end of the match to deliver two quick goals and help themselves to their first trophy this season.

The Abu Dhabi club have always played second fiddle to the other heavyweights in the UAE.

Their best year arguably was in 2007 when they won the Gulf Clubs Cup and the UAE Federation Cup.

"But for all practical reasons, this is our first domestic trophy," Khasif said.

"And we hope we can ride on this success and see many more trophies. For sure, this will be the start for us. The players are all in a good mood and we can only hope to carry forward this winning form into the next season," the goalkeeper added.

"This is a fresh start for us and we need to re-look at what we want to achieve [in] the future."

Voicing similar sentiments was Sultan Barghash, scorer of the second goal way into the second half injury period.

Speaking to Gulf News from his home in Abu Dhabi, with his father as interpreter, Barghash said that this win was crucial to Al Jazira's scheme of things.

"For one, this will give us reason to believe in ourselves for the future," Barghash stated.

"We missed out on the league and on the President's Cup, so this win is even more sweet as it is bound to give us the right sort of push for the future," he added.

Al Jazira coach Abel Braga had much to say, but the English media failed to understand anything due to the absence of a translator.

Ajman coach Ali Gazi Gairi admitted that his team had lost to a superior side.

"Our team was up against a very strong side and tonight was not easy. This is what we had to offer and we played our best and lost to a very good team," Gairi stated.

"The difference between us and Al Jazira is the quality of players. And I think we did very well till the very end."