We will play our hearts out against Al Ain, asserts Al Jazira’s Jones

abu dhabi — Al Jazira striker Kenwyne Jones said his team will play their heart out against Al Ain in the finals of the President’s Cup on Sunday and has compared it with the FA Cup — the world’s oldest domestic football cup competition.

Jones said regardless of the team one faces in the final, being part of the showpiece event in itself is a big moment for one and all. “Playing against Al Ain does make it special for the fans.”

Jones felt it’s their road to the final and the manner of achieving the wins that will hold them good against Al Ain. “The journey to the finals has sprung many surprises so far,” he said at the Al Jazira club.

Elaborating on the surprises, he said: “In our match against Sharjah we were almost out but came back and also against Al Ahli none expected us to win. So playing Cup competition final anything can happen.”

The Trinidad and Tobago national captain has played in many English Premier League clubs — Southampton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Cardiff City and Bournemouth. When asked about how important the President’s Cup was for him after playing in many such finals, he said: “No matter how many leagues or finals you play, a President’s Cup final will be very special. This is like the FA Cup and very important piece of silverware.”

On the Al Ain ‘test’, he said: “We did well to come back in the league and improve our position. Every game presented new set of challenges and as a club we came together to overcome each of those. And now we have one more test left and hopefully we can get through to the Cup.”

On the preparation for the big day, he said: “We are ready. We have to believe in ourselves and give our 100 per cent to the team. Sometimes you do all of this and still the result don’t go your way.”

Asked if Al Ain are the favourites or Jazira see an advantage in the Garden City playing too many matches in the last two weeks, he said: “Sometimes advantages don’t count. All over the world where you think teams have advantage of money or better players see lowerplaced teams beat them.”

“Football is an unpredictable game. All you can do is to play your heart out and hope for the best,” he added.