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Dubai and Al Jazira share the points in 1-1 draw

Al Jazira snatched a late equaliser to come away with a point from a 1-1 draw with Dubai at the Dubai Sports and Cultural Club Stadium in Al Awir on Saturday night. Mohamed Ali Hussain opened the scoring for the home side before an own goal gave Al Jazira a share of the spoils seven minutes from time in the Round 23 Etisalat Pro League clash. The result sees Al Jazira move up a place into 4th with 40 points, whilst Dubai now have 24 points in 11th position.

The visitors started the brighter of the two sides as UAE national team striker Ali Mabkhout flashed a shot wide from the left as early as the 3rd minute. In the 11th minute Fernandinho cut inside onto his left and put a shot straight at the Dubai goalkeeper Jamal Abdallah. Ten minutes later Ali Mabkhout skipped away from his markers down the right and sent a ball into the box across the face of goal, but Dubai’s shot-stopper got to grips with it before Fernandinho was able to pull the trigger. Dubai managed two chances of note in quick succession, as Rami Yaslam steamed away at pace but Al Jazira’s defense managed to get back rapidly to block his effort in the 27th minute. A minute later a ball over the top in the box from Hassan Abdelrahman was met by Rami Yaslam but he couldn’t get a clean connection and Ali Khaseif was able to save from close range. In the 36th minute Al Jazira were awarded a free kick 40 yards out and pintsized midfielder Sultan Barghash decided to aim straight for goal, but his set piece didn’t dip soon enough to go in under the crossbar, and the teams remained level with no score at half time.

Dubai’s Mohamed Ismail had a header saved on the line by Ali Khaseif two minutes after the restart as Rene Marsiglia’s men went in search of an opening goal, and at the other end Matias Delgado and Ali Mabkhout almost combined to put the visitors ahead before the 50-minute mark, and in the 51st minute Sultan Barghash broke free and unleashed a dipping shot that crashed into the crossbar. In the 57th minute Ali Mabkhout missed a great chance after being put through by Fernandinho, but the Emirati striker was tightly marked and could only toe-poke his shot just wide of the left post. A minute later Matias Delgado sent a diagonal ball from the right in the direction of Fernandinho but the Brazilian couldn’t direct his shot on target as another Al Jazira chance went begging. The visiting side were soon made to pay for their missed chances when Dubai took the lead in the 62nd minute. Rami Yaslam controlled cleverly on his chest before setting up substitute Mohamed Ali Hussain to fire home across goal from a tight angle to make it 1-0. A minute later Dubai almost caught Al Jazira off-guard from a free kick as Careca’s header flew just wide of the post, and Dubai continued to offer the most threat as the persistent Rami Yaslam escaped several Al Jazira defenders before forcing Ali Khaseif into a low reflex save at the near post. In the 74th minute Ali Mabkhout hit a sweet strike from just outside the box but Dubai goalkeeper Jamal Abdallah was equal to it as Al Jazira struggled to find a way back into the game. But hustle and harry they did, and an equaliser finally came in the 83rd minute when Abdullah Mousa’s drilled cross from the left forced an own goal from the unfortunate Kayed Abdualla, who turned the ball into his own net to make it 1-1 with seven minutes remaining. One minute from time Jamal Abdallah got a hand to Fernandinho’s effort and watched gratefully as it trickled just wide of the far post, and Ali Khaseif had to be alert in the final minute of added time to keep the scores level at a goal each.