Dubai: Ali Mabkhout consolidated his position at the top of the scorers’ list to power Al Jazira to a 5-0 thrashing of Hatta and ensure his team their second Arabian Gulf League (AGL) crown late on Saturday.
Last night’s triple strike took Mabkhout’s tally up to 31 while taking the Pride of Abu Dhabi up to 62 points, and out of reach of chasing defending champions Al Ahli — who had to fight hard for a 2-2 draw at home against visiting Sharjah in the day’s second early match.
Mabkhout opened the scoring only in the 38th minute against a resolute Hatta. The second was an own goal from Samuel Rosa six minutes into the second half, and that proved crucial as the game opened up as the 26-year-old UAE striker found the nets again in the 65th and 90th minutes while Ailton Almeia got one in the 86th minute to complete the Al Jazira domination.
Al Jazira has been the dominant side this season. The club, founded in 1974, has just two losses and draws so far this year. Their losses came against defending champions Al Ahli [1-2] and Al Nasr [0-2], while they dropped points with a 1-1 draw against city rivals Al Wahda and a surprising 1-1 result away to Emirates Club in Ras Al Khaimah.
Going into the 24th round of the AGL, Al Jazira needed just one point to assure themselves of their second league crown following their maiden triumph at the end of the 2010-’11 season. And their task got even easier when Al Ahli trailed by a goal against Sharjah.
Needing all three points and a hope to keep chasing the team from Abu Dhabi, the Red Knights could only just recover for a well-contested 2-2 draw at home against Sharjah to snuff out any small chance they might have had at successfully defending their crown.
Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan converted from the penalty spot after substitute Ahmad Khalil had been brought down inside the area in the 65th minute to cancel out Kakan’s ninth minute strike. The visitors went clear a second time when Kakan scored his second on the night from the spot in the 80th minute. But Makhete Diop came to the rescue of the home team when he rose above the Sharjah defence to head in past Mohammad Yousuf two minutes later for a well-deserved, but disappointing 2-2 draw.
Meanwhile, there are no further challengers for the title before Al Jazira now and their next two rounds against Al Nasr [May 3] and Al Dhafra [May 13] will be of very little importance.
T he focus, however, especially among the top four will be to assure themselves of three automatic spots in next season’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League. Al Jazira are already assured a spot as they head the standings with an unbeatable 62 points. With another six points to play for, Al Ahli (52) and Al Wasl (51) are definitely to face a resistance from last year’s runners-up Al Ain — who were scheduled to take on Al Wahda later on Saturday.
RESULTS
Hatta 0 Al Jazira 5
Al Ahli 2 Sharjah 2
