Star-studded Emirates squad eager for strong UAE Tour results
Despite lowly-placed Al Dhafra holding Sharjah to a draw, The King stay on top as Al Jazira too were held 3-3 by 3rd-placed Bani Yas. Earlier, while Al Nasr eased to a facile win over Ajman, Shabab Al Ahli edged past botom side Hata ater the later were do
There were goals galore in the crucial Arabian Gulf League matchweek 17 game between top spot aspirants Al Jazira and third-placed Bani Yas at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. In the end, the visitors, despite a brilliant brace from their Argentine medio Nicolas Gimenez, were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by The Pride of Abu Dhabi 3-2, courtesy of a goal in the 4th minute of injury time by Nigerian forward Imoh Ezekiel ater their star forward Ali Ahmed Mabkhout muffed a penalty a minute earlier.
Two early goals in the 9th and 14th minutes got Al Jazira to a flying start. With the all-important first place on the table at stake, Curacao forward Brandley Kuwas got The Pride of Abu Dhabi their opening goal of the night ater connecting a pass fromemiratiplaymakerkhalfanmubarak.hardlyfive minutes later, Bani Yas goaltender Fahad Mohamed saw another go past him into the net when UAE star forward Mabkhout -- carrying his goal-scoring form into this match ater his hat-trick in his side’s 6-0 win over Itihad Kalba last week -- neted the team’s second on the night to put Al Jazira 2-0 up ater 14 minutes into the first half.
Bani Yas’ Brazilian midfielder Joao Pedro’s goal in the 41st minute it was that reduced the margin for Bani Yas and kept them in the match. The scoreline at the end of the first half stayed the same with Al Jazira leading Bani Yas 2-1.
Things heated up considerably in the cool winter evening ater resumption with two goals in two minutes for Bani Yas. Barely three minutes into the second half, Gimenez restored parity for the visitors and followed it up almost immediately with another goal in the very next minute with help from teammate Suhail Al Noobi.
Bani Yas looked to have the match all stitched up but ater Al Jazira missed to equalise as Mabkhout missed from the penalty spot, Ezekiel restored parity with his last-gasp goal.
Mabkhout stays top of the goalscoring charts, siting two goals above Pedro.
Ater this match the Sharjah stay on top with 37 pointsfrom17matches,sharingthespotwithaljazira.
In the other late match, botom club Hata were hosting Shabab Al Ahli Dubai at the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium. The hosts successfully defended their citadel and the score at lemon time was 0-0. In fact, they went ahead in the 58th minute. However, being reduced to 10 men with the ejection of defender Yousuf Habib, Shabab Al Ahli wrapped up the match with 2 goals in the 86th and 87th minutes from Yahya Alghassani and Mohammad Juma Eid respectively.
Earlier,sharjahhandedaljaziraagoldenchance to climb at the top of the AGL table ater they were held to a 1-1 draw by Al Dhafra at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium on the opening day of matchweek 17 on Thursday.
Both sides created a couple of good chances in the early stages of the game, as they piled up the pressure on the opponents’ defence. The King, however, were the beter side for large periods of the first half but failed to pose a real threat to the hosts’ goal.
It wasn’t until the 32nd minute when the guests brokethedeadlock.wellitonsoareslatchedontothe rebound and fired home to hand his side a 1-0 lead.
Sharjah’s lead was, however, short-lived as Pedro Conde neted the equaliser three minutes before the break ater converting from the spot.
Senani was the hero when he denied Caio’s header with less than 20 minutes to go, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw, which is the first draw between Sharjah and Al Dhafra since 2017. Al Dhafra earned their first point ater three consecutive defeats.
With the drawn tie against Al Dhafra and with Al Jazira being held by third-placed Bani Yas, Sharjah with with 37 points, stay above Al Jazira at the top by virtue of head-to-head result.
AL NASR EASE TO 3-0 AJMAN WIN: Ater losing theburdubaiderby,alnasrreturnedtowinningways with a comfortable 3-0 win over Ajman at Rashid Bin Saeed Stadium on Thursday in matchweek 17 of the Arabian Gulf League.
Al Nasr headed into haltime with a 1-0 advantage, thanks to an own goal ater Diaa Saba’s effort deflected off Ajman defender Abdulrahman Rakan and into the net just 12 minutes into the game.
Ryan Mendes got his name on the scoresheet eight minutes ater the restart, as he capitalized on a defensive mistake and tapped the ball home to make it 2-0. The 31-year-old put the win beyond any doubt when he completed his brace following an individual effort in the 86th minute.
Al Nasr forward Sebastian Tagliabue found the back of the net deep into injury time but his effort was ruled out for offside ater reviewing the VAR.
This marked Al Nasr’s first win with Argentine coach Ramón Díaz at the helm. The Blues raised their tally to 30 points and moved into top four temporarily. Meanwhile, Ajman remain in 13th place ater succumbing to their 12th defeat this season.
ABU DHABI: UAE Team Emirates have named their seven riders for the first big goal of the year, the UAE Tour.
The Emirati team go into the race eager for strong results ater a good showing in 2020 where Tadej Pogacar won a dramatic stage 5 before going onto to win the Tour de France later that year.
This year’s race will run from Feb. 21-27 and will feature seven days racing, including four flat stages, two mountain stages and an individual time trial.
The team goes into the race with a dynamic squad who will focus on stage victories, while also eyeing up the overall title with Tadej Pogačar, and with Fernando Gaviria to lead the line in the sprints.
Team manager Joxean Matxin Fernandez (Spain) along with Sports directors Andrej Hauptman (Slovenia) and Marco Marzano (Italy) will lead the following riders: Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia), Davide Formolo (Italy), Jan Polanc (Slovenia), Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark), Rafal Majka (Poland), Fernando Gaviria (Colombia) and Maximiliano Richeze (Argentina)
Manager Fernandez said, “Our aim will be to pick up where we let the race last year -- with a victory. Whether it’s the General Classification (GC) or a stage or both, we are searching for that first win of 2021 and to achieve it on home soil would be fantastic.
We’re on home territory and we know that all eyes will be on us but it’s something we’ll use as further motivation. Pogačar will be our leader but the reality is it’s a squad that can adapt to any situation and we will have different cards to play, especially on the climbs.
“Gaviria has a good track record here also and will be our main man for the sprint finishes,” Fernandez added.
Tadej Pogačar said: “It’s my first race of the season so I’m excited to get started and get back competing again. My preparation has gone really well. We’ve been on Mount Teide training at altitude over the past few weeks with a good group and done a quality block of training with a great atmosphere.
“I was thrilled to get the stage win here last year. Obviously it will be a bit of a different atmosphere this year but we are all really motivated to race and give our all in the UAE colours.
“Between holidays and training camps I have spent a lot of time in the UAE lately and I can say that the UAE Tour is a race I would really love to win someday. If it can be this year then that would be great,” Pogacar added.
Last year, the race heralded the beginning of the end to the spring season as COVID-19 hit the race entourage and the final two stages were cancelled.
Reigning champion Adam Yates kicks off his Ineos Grenadiers career at the race, Chris Froome makes his Israel Start-up Nation bow, while both Tour de France champion Pogačar and cyclo-cross World champion Mathieu van der Poel (AlpecinFenix) will start their 2021 seasons in the UAE.