Al Jazira swamp Al Nasr
dubai — Al Jazira swamped Al Nasr to go clear at the top of Group A in the Arabian Gulf Cup on Friday night.
Goals from Emirati frontman Ali Ahmed Mabkhout, Uzbekistan international Sardor Rashidov and substitute Ahmed Rabia gave the Pride of Abu Dhabi a resounding 3-0 win at the Rashid bin Saeed Stadium in Ajman.
Al Jazira, who were tied on four points with Al Nasr, prior to this fixture, moved to seven points and strengthened their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Al Nasr, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat in the Cup after a win and a draw previously.
Elsewhere, Hatta and nine-man Ajman played out a goalless stalemate in Hatta, while it was an identical result in Ras Al Khaimah as well between Emirates and Dibba.
Al Nasr had started brightly with a number of forays and it was Al Jazira who took the lead against the run of play before stamping their authority on the game.
Moroccan midfielder Abdelaziz Barrada got past Salim Rashid and Salem Abduall on the left and took a shot but his left-footer went wide of the post, on 11 minutes.
Three minutes later, Mauro Zarate, who caused a few headaches for Al Jazira on the left flank, played a one-two with Barrada before drilling his effort over the cross bar.
Al Jazira took the lead on 21 minutes with Ali Mabkhout latching onto a fantastic through from Romarinho and rolling it past goalkeeper Mohd Yousef and into the right corner of the net.
Romarinho came up with another assist, this time, firing a neat through for Rashidov, the Uzbek tucking it in for Al Jazira’s second, on 26 minutes.
Al Nasr had back-to-back corners on 34 minutes but couldn’t make both of them count. And their night turned even more miserable with substitute Ahmed Rabia, who had just come on for Ali Mabkhout a minute earlier, scoring with his first touch of the game, on 65 minutes.
Rabia then embarked on a somersault to celebrate the goal.
james@khaleejtimes.com