Juma scores brace as 4-star Shabab Al Ahli rout Al Jazira

Mohamed Juma impressed as Shabab Al Ahli earned a big 4-0 win over Al Jazira at Shabab Al Ahli Stadium in matchweek 2 of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Saturday.

The Pride of Abu Dhabi entered the game on the back of a 3-1 win against Khor Fakkan, while Shabab Al Ahli drew 2-2 with Al Ain in their opening game.

Early on the game, Al Jazira lost the services of their player Majid Lafi for injury and was replaced by Amer Abdulrahman in the sixth minute.

The hosts pushed forward to break the deadlock and they opened the scoring after 26 minutes. After an impressive individual work from Juma, he tapped the ball into the back of the net.

Shabab Al Ahli netted the second only 10 minutes after the restart as Juma continued to impress and added a second goal to his name. He made a run on the right flank and dribbled past a number of Al Jazira defenders before slotting the ball home.

Only three minutes later, the home side went 3-0 up, thanks to an own goal from Thulani Serero. As the South African midfielder was trying to clear off the ball, he slotted it home inside his own net by mistake.

In the 65th minute, Ahmed Abdulla Jshak netted the fourth of the night. After an impressive teamwork, Jshak sent the ball into the back of the net to make it 4-0.

Juma came close to adding his third of the night one minute before time but his effort hit the woodwork as the game ended in a 4-0 win.

Shabab Al Ahli now sit at the top of the group on four points, while Al Jazira are sixth on one point.

Jurgen Streppel admitted Al Jazira deserved to lose against the hosts and assured the fans that his players will keep working hard to improve their game.

Streppel insists his team will put this defeat behind them and focus on improving for their next game.

“The match was very difficult and Shabab Al Ahli deserved to win the game,” said Streppel during his post-match press conference.

“We put in a lot of effort during the match and tried very hard to get something from the game. However, at the end of the day, we were playing the title holders in their home stadium and they made it very difficult for us to play the football that we wanted.”

He added: “As I said before the match, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that we are a competitive side.

“We are all disappointed and we will now regroup as a squad and ensure that in all of our training sessions, that we continue working hard and improve all areas of our game.”

Streppel also revealed why new summer signings – Moroccan forward Mourad Batna and Brazilian attacker Keno did not feature.

“The reason why they couldn’t play was because they were injured,” he said. “Even though they were in the squad, they were not 100 per cent fit to play.”

Al Jazira will next be in action on Sept. 6 when they host Al Ain in the third group match of the Arabian Gulf Cup.

Meanwhile, Khor Fakkan and Al Nasr played out a cautious 0-0 draw and Al Wahda eased past Sharjah 3-1.

Khor Fakkan were looking to get their first win of the season after falling to a defeat to Al Jazira in the opening week whereas Al Nasr had started the campaign in style with a 3-0 win over Ittihad Kalba.

While Al Nasr controlled the possession in the first half, they failed to pose significant threat on Khor Fakkan’s goal.

Their most dangerous chance came seven minutes before the break, when Alvaro Negredo wasted a perfect opportunity to open the scoring. The Spanish forward failed to convert into an open net as the first half ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Blues looked more lively in the early stages of the second half.

On the one-hour mark, Al Nasr came close to breaking the deadlock but Gabriel Valentini’s effort was saved by Youssif.

The Blues continued to push forward and had a number of attempts on goal, but they weren’t enough as the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

Abdulla Anwar scored a hat-trick in Al Wahda’s win over Sharjah.

The Clarets started the game in an electrifying fashion, when Eduardo Voltan went up the left flank and sent an accurate cross towards Anwar, whose weak header crept past Sharjah’s goalkeeper Mayed Muhsin in the 15th minute, giving the guests a 1-0 lead.

Just three minutes ahead of the halftime whistle, Anwar doubled his tally when he finished Yahya Al Ghassani defence-splitting through pass with a perfectly-timed touch. This marked his fourth goal in the competition after only two games.

The King, who were pushing to reduce the deficit, responded in the 51st minute through Omar Juma, who cut inside from the left flank, but his right-footed curler was parried away by Rashed Ali into a corner kick.