Dubai: UAE national team striker Ali Mabkhout continued his goalscoring efforts to hand the league leaders full points with a hard-fought 3-1 win against bottom-placed Bani Yas, while Hatta scraped past Emirates 2-0 in 18th round action of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Friday.
Both of Mabkhout’s goals came from the penalty spot — the first in the 32nd minute and the second just before the half-time whistle — and while Jean Mendy pulled one back three minutes into the second half, the Pride of Abu Dhabi continued their dominant form in the AGL this season. Mubarak Boussoufa put the match out of reach for the home team when he made it 3-1 with a beauty of a free kick two minutes from full-time.
The win took Al Jazira to 47 points, and eight clear of chasing Al Wasl, who won 2-1 against Sharjah late on Thursday to keep up the pressure on the league leaders.
Ultimately, Al Jazira have the two spot kicks to thank as they proved to be crucial for the visiting team in the final outcome. On the other hand, Bani Yas have themselves to blame as they squandered several chances after dominating the early part of the match with their foreign winter recruits Mendy and Ezekiel Henty guilty on at least a couple of occasions each.
Both teams resorted to open play, especially in the early part of the match, and it was Bani Yas who should have been clear by at least two goals. In the tenth minute, Mendy had a golden chance when he was put in the clear by Suhail Al Noobi, but the lanky striker shot straight into the waiting arms of Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khasief.
Al Jazira responded with Leonardo Ferreira coming close on a couple of occasions. First, his shot missed the target narrowly in the 11th minute and then Dida flung himself to his left to deny the Al Jazira winger.
Finally, Mabkhout got his name on the scoresheet when he converted from the spot two minutes after the half-hour mark, and then made it 2-0 on the 45th minute from the spot — Khalfan Mubarak the man brought down on both occasions.
Meanwhile, in the second match of the evening, Hatta scored either side of half-time to subdue Emirates Club 2-0. Maher Al Baloushi was on hand to nod in after goalkeeper Ali Saqr had spilt the ball two minutes before half-time, while Adrian Ropotan sealed the full points in the final minute of play.
The win took Hatta to 20 points and further away from the drop zone, while Emirates continued facing the prospects of relegation as they stayed one place above Bani Yas with 12 points.
RESULTS
Bani Yas 1 Al Jazira 3
Emirates 0 Hatta 2
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