Entertainment options are legion in the UAE on a Friday night. But few contain as many thrills and spills as a date with the Arabian Gulf League’s resident entertainers, Al Jazira.
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The Pride of Abu Dhabi head the standings after a six-goal battle with on-song Al Wasl that contained multiple lead changes, an early red card and several strikes to savour.
Eric Gerets’ men remain as welcoming at the back and deadly up top as they did at the start of the season.
The reaching of the half-way stage of the league and the month-long international break provide opportunity to recalibrate, though an entry into the January transfer market seems the only feasible option to correct the long-term problem which sees lowly Ajman and Ittihad Kalba as the only defences easier to breach.
A tightening at the back is needed to stand any chance of preventing Al Ain’s increasingly unstoppable rise to first place once they have played their two games in hand, starting with Monday’s clash with Al Shabab.
Deadly strikers Mirko Vucinic and Ali Mabkhout, once again, provided the firepower to secure an eighth victory of the campaign for the Pride of Abu Dhabi. This was an impressive achievement against resurgent opponents who suffered only their second defeat in 10 matches under the guidance of Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon.
The capital side never do things the easy way, an early goal and Wasl red card failing to prevent yet more drama.
Gerets continues to wring much-improved displays from Jucilei, and the Brazil midfielder was on hand to head in a sixth-minute opener from Sultan Al Suwaidi’s whipped cross.
Jazira’s cause was then boosted by Waheed Ismail’s dismissal for two yellow cards just past the half-hour mark, a pair of clattering fouls on Manuel Lanzini and Jonathan Pitroipa giving the Wasl skipper a deserved early bath.
The Cheetahs rebounded from the setbacks in style.
Vucinic was penalised for a handball from a free-kick, Ederson Alves converting a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time to equalise.
Within three minutes of the restart, Wasl went ahead when Abdullah Mousa’s under-hit back pass was collected gleefully by Caio Canedo to slot home.
With Vucinic on the pitch, there is always hope.
The Montenegro striker claimed his 16th goal of a sensational debut campaign, beating the offside trap to fire low into the goal after immaculate chest control. The momentum was now back in their favour.
A sublime Lanzini through-ball then dissected the Wasl defence, Pitroipa making up for several earlier misses to calmly dispatch the third when clean through.
There was still time left for Mabkhout to score one of the individual goals of the season, dancing past Hassan Zahran’s outstretched legs before inventively rounding goalkeeper Yousif Abdulla to secure the three points.
Meanwhile, a lone second-half header from Luiz Henrique against bottom-placed Ittihad Kalba saw Emirates secure their first win in four matches.
Saoud Faraj was the creator, his pinpoint cross teeing up the Brazilian to score for the hosts in the 70th minute.