Dubai: Teams from Abu Dhabi were among the big winners in the opening round of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Al Ain, Al Jazira and Al Wahda all won in contrasting styles to get their campaigns off to a winning start. Al Ain completed Group B proceedings with a 4-1 demolition of Sharjah after Al Jazira had whipped Fujairah 5-2 and Al Wahda had slipped their way to an away 1-0 win against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai.
Al Nasr were the other team finishing with three points with a 1-0 win against Emirates Club, while Bani Yas fought back for a 1-1 draw with Ajman and Kalba did well for a goalless result against star-studded Al Wasl.
Meanwhile, Ivan Jovanovic has challenged Al Nasr to find a way to win games especially against the so-called easy teams.
Ten-man Al Nasr rode on a 43rd-minute Marcos Gabriel goal for a 1-0 win over Emirates Club in their Arabian Gulf Cup Group B opener late on Wednesday prompting Jovanovic to exhort his team towards bigger goals.
“The result and three points are the only things we can take away from this match. I didn’t like the way we played. I am not trying to make excuses, but we need to do much better than this,” the Serbian coach told media after Wednesday’s match.
“Spectators who come to watch need to enjoy the game. We can’t play the way we did today,” he added.
Al Nasr did not have the best of starts to the new season after going down by a solitary goal to Ajman in last week’s Round One of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL). “It was important for us to win this game. I can’t comment too much on the level, but it was not too easy for us to play with ten men for nearly one hour,” he said.
Al Nasr lost defender Hamad Khamis for a second bookable offence in the 37th minute, and yet they managed to re-organise and score in the 43rd minute after Gabriel pulled a first-time left-footed volley off a Samuel Rosa delivery.
“Honestly, I can’t complain against the two yellows and the red to Hamad [Khamis]. He is a new player and he has the talent to get better. Our job now is to keep his enthusiasm intact and make sure he is careful in the future. In the end it is the result that matters and we are glad we got the three points,” Jovanovic added.
Results:
Group A
Sharjah 1 Al Ain 4
Al Jazira 5 Fujairah 2
Al Nasr 1 Emirates 0
Group B
Ajman 1 Bani Yas 1
Al Wasl 0 Kalba 0
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Wahda 1
