Mabkhout, Khalfan star as Jazira thump Wasl

abu dhabi — Ali Mabkhout and Khalfan Mubarak scored as Al Jazira beat Al Wasl 2-0 in round nine match of the Arabian Gulf League at Mohammad bin Zayed Stadium.

And before the match, athletes from the Special Olympics UAE squad escorted the footballers to the pitch. Omar Abdulkader Abdulla, UAE Special Olympics player, flipped the coin toss for the match. The Special Olympics World Games will be held in Abu Dhabi next year.

The football match had a promising start with attacks and counter attacks from the opening minute. Midfielder Khalfan was more than a match for Al Wasl defence and keeper Yousif Al Zaabi. At the other end, Al Wasl skipper Caio Canedo kept keeper Adel Abu Baker busy.

Al Jazira maintained pressure through forays into goal from Mabkhout and Ernest Asante. Al Jazira dominated the midfield play and had a dozen chances inside the first half hour but always lacked coordination with finish.

Al Jazira’s League season is dented with four draws, including three at home. These lost points could hurt their title chances and players are wary about this aspect. Despite moments and no goals to merit, frustration grew and Mabkhout earned a booking for a silly foul. Another foul by Salim Rashid presented Al Wasl their first free kick and that too just outside the box. Al Jazira keeper Baker had to be at his athletic best to parry away Fabio de Lima’s biting delivery. Making the save, Baker crashed into the far post and took time to recover. Three minutes of added time failed to bring the first goal.

After the break, Al Wasl had the first shot on goal but Vinicius de Lima was wayward.

Against the run of play and in unlikeliest fashion, Al Jazira scored. A racing Khalfan intercepted an Al Wasl pass and in a one-two with Mabkhout, netted the first goal. And in 62 minutes, Mabkhout scored from a fine header coming through a corner kick by Khalfan.