Mabkhout strikes for Al Jazira; Al Ahli breeze past Dibba 2-0
abu dhabi — A jubilant Henk ten Cate threw both hands in the air as striker Ali Mabkhout scored the only goal of the Round 17 Arabian Gulf League match against Kalba to drive Al Jazira to yet another win at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday. It was a passionate show by the coach to his mainstay’s crucial goal. The ‘Pride of Abu Dhabi’ are holding good at the top of the League table with 44 points.
This was the star striker’s 17th goal of the season and came after a brisk start that saw few missed chances on a windy night.
Early on, it was Brazilian midfielder Leonardo Pereira, who showed his class. Ever since his addition, he has proved a menace for oppositions and on the night, he threatened with a header that lacked power and later a long ranger to test keeper Mohammed Baroot.
But then Al Jazira went one up thanks to Mohamed Fawzi, who raced to make a cross from the right side that was near to perfection by Mabkhout. The forward saw Fawzi move and slipped into an apt position to make it a one-goal advantage in the 30th minute.
The score remained unchanged till break. There was no fizz in Kalba attack. They were missing striker Jociel and Modibo Maiga wasn’t effective. The Al Jazira defence also stood up to all the challenge and helping them was the hardnosed midfield and forward domination.
The second half saw more attacks flow and Leonardo had another long ranger parried away by Baroot. Despite a good spell of pressure the game ended without any more damage, which might be a cause for concern for ten Cate.
And giving the coach further headache was a cakewalk win for Al Ahli. In Fujairah, the ‘Red Knights’ from Dubai thumped Dibba 2-0, thus following Al Jazira closely with 35 points.
Even on away turf, Al Ahli started as favourites. They missed a chance to go up through a penalty.
In the 26th minute, striker Saeed Al Bloushi was brought down inside the danger area and striker Makhete Diop stepped in to take the spot kick. Al Ahli, however, earned their first goal through a thunderous free-kick conversion from Ahmed Khalil. It was a curling kick that was pocketed into the right corner of the net.
The ‘Red Knights’ continued to press forward and in the 77th minute scored again. Brazilian midfielder Everton Ribeiro’s cross saw Diop try an athletic move but finally it was Habib Al Fardan who was calm enough to convert a messy goal.
Meanwhile on Thursday night Al Wasl beat Al Wahda after Fabio De Lima and Ronaldo Mendes scored for the Cheetahs, while Ismail Matar pulled one back for Al Wahda.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com