Mabkhout brace in Jazira’s win over Bani Yas
dubai — Ali Mabkhout’s brace saw Al Jazira cement their place at the top of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) standings after a 3-1 win over Bani Yas at the Bani Yas Stadium on Friday.
The UAE international striker netted in the 32nd and 45th minute to give The Pride of Abu Dhabi a 2-0 cushion at the breather. Jean Mendy ulled one back for Bani Yas three minutes after resumption but Mbark Boussoufa ensured Jazira dominance over their opponents after scoring two minutes from the long whistle.
With this win, the Abu Dhabi side are on 47 points, eight points ahead of second-placed Al Wasl, who came away with a valuable 2-1 victory from Sharjah Stadium Thursday night.
Sharjah, meanwhile, dropped to 10th spot after Hatta did well to beat Emirates 2-0 on Friday at the Emirates Club Stadium.
Maher Al Balooshi scored against the run of play and Adrian Ropoten added to the tally at the stroke of full time. The game between Al wasl and Sharjah saw both goalkeepers substituted with head injuries. A goalless first hand witnessed a clash of heads between Al Wasl goalkeeper Humaid Abdullah and a defender that resulted in an injury to the goalkeeper. Coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena was forced to take him off and bring on Yousif Al Zaabi.
After a goalless first half, Al Wasl found an early break in the second half when Caio Canedo latched on a long ball and attempted to round Sharjah goalkeeper Mohamed Yousef, but the latter brought him down and the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty. In the process, Caio’s knee hit Yousef in the head, the injury forced him off, Adel Al Hosani was brought on to replace him.
The substitute goalkeeper’s first involvement was to attempt saving Caio’s penalty kick but the latter sent him the wrong way to open the scoring for the visitors in the 53rd minute.
Thirteen minutes later, defender Yaser Salem pulled Sharjah’s Amer Omar’s shirt inside the box and the referee awarded another penalty. Venezuelan striker Gelmin Rivas took the resulting spot kick and powered in a shot at the heart of goal to bring the home side level.
‘The Cheetahs’ were determined to get the three points and in the 78th minute Humaid Abbas headed in Khalid Bawazir’s free-kick past Al Hosani to restore Al Wasl’s lead. A lead they defended until the end of the match to earn a valuable win in the championship race.