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Al Jazira defeat tough contenders Al Wahda 2-1 to avenge their Super Cup loss

 

Al Jazira added three points to their balance after defeating their traditional contenders Al Wahda 2-1 in their derby encounter held tonight at the Al Nahyan pitch in Abu Dhabi. The winners raised their tally to six points to stay on top of Group "A" of the Etisalat Cup while the losers dropped to third spot with three points, one step below second placed Al Wasl on goal difference.

A strong and balanced display was shown by the two teams from the word go and Brazilian player Bare of Al Jazira was the first to find the back of the net, but this strong shot was deflected by Al Wahda's goalkeeper Motaz Abdullah before being cleared by a defender four minutes into play. This early chance put more heat on the performance of the two squads and it was the visiting team Al Jazira who netted the first goal of the match through Delgado's perfect header in the 10th minute. Brazilian Oliveira sent a long cross off a stand ball that rebounded off the cross bar for Delgado to headed home into the left hand side.

The two rivals demonstrated a brilliant display in front a big mass of fans totaling to 5282 spectators. Al Jazira missed the efforts of their dynamic      midfielder Subait Khatir who was shown the red card by the match referee Hamad Al Sheikh only 20 minutes into the game after a rough play with Omer Ali amid protests from Al Jazira's players. The visitors finished the game with ten players .The referee also showed Abdulla Jasim of Al Jazira a yellow card due to bad conduct. The match turned into tough play afterwards but the referee was able to bring the players under his control after showing the second yellow card to Ibrahima Diaky of Al Jazira.

Both teams exchanged dangerous attacks and Brazilian Bare missed a sitter in the 25th minute when Abdullah Jasim crossed the ball from the left flank, but the goalkeeper Motaz Abdullah saved bravely. Brazilian striker Hugo of the home team was a real threat to Al Jazira team with his strong shots. His rocket-like volley rebounded off the cross bar in the 28th minute and another shot was blocked by Al Jazira's goalie Khalid Essa one minute later. Hugo also failed to score into the empty net in the 32nd minute when his header rebounded off the upright.

Heksberger coach of Al Wahda made the first substitution in the game when he fielded in Amer Omer to replace Yaagoub Al Hosani in the 35th minute. Ismail Matar sent a severe shot four minutes before the interval but it rebounded off Khalid Essa's body before being cleared away by a defender. But two minutes into injury time, Hugo leveled the score off a penalty awarded to the home team when their defender Khalid Sabeel fouled Ismail Matar inside the six yard area to end the first session with a 1-1 draw.

At the beginning of the second session Al Jazira's coach Franky Vercauteren replaced Bary by defender Abdullah Mousa.  The two squads exerted some good efforts, but could not create more chances as the level of the performance dropped down compared to that the two teams demonstrated before the interval.

Magraow missed a chance seven minutes into the second half when his header hit the cross bar and cleared away. Ismail Matar left the pitch in the 61st minute and Fernando Bayano replaced him. The winners were the better side after creating a number of scoring chances and their dynamic player Oliveira faced the goalkeeper in the 66th minute but his volley rebounded off the woodwork before scoring the winner three minutes later after receiving a long pass from Abdullah Jasim that put him free with only the goalkeeper to beat. Al Jazira's midfielder Abdul Rahim Juma'a replaced Oliveira six minutes before the final whistle. Amer Omer of Al Wahda lost the last opportunity in the game when he received a lovely pass from Bayano, he faced the goalie but shot wide.