News Center

Al Nasr and Al Jazira share the points in dramatic 3-3 draw

Al Nasr weathered the sandstorm and torrential downpour to come back from two goals down against Al Jazira, but after going 3-2 ahead they were pegged back late by the visitors to share the points in a dramatic 3-3 draw at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Saturday night. The rescheduled Round 14 Etisalat Pro League win sees Al Nasr increase their points tally to 33 but remain in 5th place, with Al Jazira on 36 points one place ahead of their opponents in fourth.

Al Jazira opened with a number of opportunities, as UAE national team striker Ali Mabkhout cut inside from the right and shot wide in just the second minute. One minute later Matias Delgado tried a long range effort as the visitors made their attacking intentions clear. In the 10th minute the home side had their own chance, as Giuseppe Mascara’s cross was almost turned in by the approaching Takayuki Morimoto, but Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khaseif gathered. Four minutes later Salem Masoud had a strike on goal for Al Jazira after a mazy run through the middle of the park, and five minutes later Ricardo Oliveira also had a pop from distance. With playing conditions worsening, sandstorm winds disrupted the flow of play but Al Nasr’s Abdulla Mubarak saw his 27th-minute dipping effort saved by Ali Khaseif, and three minutes later Humaid Ahmed’s shot for the home side was blocked in the box. In the 36th minute Giuseppe Mascara’s overhead kick almost connected with Khamis Ahmed’s cross but Al Nasr could not get their noses in front, and in the 41st minute they were punished by Al Jazira as Ali Mabkhout scored a fine individual goal. The UAE hitman collected a long ball on the left and went on a marauding run, cutting inside the area before slotting a controlled finish across the face of goal and past Al Nasr ‘keeper Ahmed Shambieh to but the visiting side 1-0 up in the 41st minute, which is how the score remained at the half time break.

The second half got underway in increasingly bizarre weather conditions as a torrential downpour ensued, but it was Al Jazira who weathered the storm the better of the two sides as Ricardo Oliveira doubled their lead just two minutes after the restart, arrowing a right-footed shot past Shambieh after the ball clipped fortuitously off the back of his heels. Just five minutes later though, Al Nasr got themselves back in the game as Japanese international Morimoto slotted a left-footed shot home after a clever flick-on from half-time substitute Yunus Ahmad. With the home side now in the ascendancy, the 63rd minute saw a free kick whipped in from the right by Mascara but substitute Bruno Cesar put his header just wide of the post. A minute later the energetic Yunus Ahmad was denied bravely from close range by Ali Khaseif in the Al Jazira goal, and two minutes later Giuseppe Mascara lost his footing on the slippery surface as he just failed to connect with Bruno Cesar’s through-ball. In the 69th minute an intuitive pass from Sultah Barghash created an opportunity for Al Jazira at the other end, but the ball just skipped away from Ali Mabkhout. After a lull in play punctuated by substitutions and treatment, Al Nasr found an equaliser in the 76th minute as captain Leonardo Lima sent a ball into the box, which was headed on by Al Jazira’s Hamad Al Hammadi but only into the path of Morimoto. The Japanese striker did not make a clear connection with the ball but it somehow bounced into the net beyond Ali Khaseif to make it 2-2.

The drama did not stop there as Al Nasr sensed a winner in the tie, pouring forward at every opportunity. Two minutes after leveling, Habib Al Fardan sent an incisive pass for Morimoto – on his hat-trick – to run onto, but Ali Khaseif rushed out to claim at his feet and quell the danger. In the 80th minute, though, Al Nasr got ahead as Habib Al Fardan once again pulled the strings from midfield, sending the ball out to Yunus Ahmad on the left, who in turn sent a low cross into the area for Bruno Cesar to tap home and make it 3-2. Almost immediately after going behind, Al Jazira tried to get back to level pegging as Subait Khater’s long-range shot curled just wide of the framework, and in the 88th minute the visitors got what they were looking for as Ricardo Oliveira finished cleanly through a sea of Al Nasr bodies to claim a point for Al Jazira with a dramatic late equaliser at 3-3. In a pulsating end to the tie, Bruno Cesar went in search of a winner for Al Nasr as he attempted an 89th minute overhead kick, and at the other end Ali Mabkhout hit the side netting one minute later, but neither side could find a winner as the clash ended 3-3.