Al Jazira beat Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi Derby
Players of Al Jazira and Al Wahda in action during their Arabian Gulf League match.
Al Wahda had a chance to open the scoring in the 32nd minute, when Khalil Ibrahim launched a solo attack before crossing the ball back to Paul-Jose M’Poku, who fired from just outside the penalty area, but Al Jazira keeper Ali Khasif blocked his effort.
It was Al Jazira who found the back of the net in the 38th minute, when Khalfan Mubarak scored the opening goal by a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, leaving goalkeeper Mohamed AlShamsi helpless.
Al Jazira doubled their lead after Abdullah Ramadan sent an inch-perfect pass to Ali Mabkhout, who rounded the goalkeeper and scored the second goal in the 62nd minute, raising his tally this season to six goals.
Mabkhout came close to scoring again in the 67th minute, when he fired a powerful shot from outside the area but was blocked by AlShamsi.
With 10 minutes to go, Tahnoon Alzaabi missed a chance to reduce the deficit as his powerful effort from outside the box hit the woodwork.
The Clarets continued to pressure Al Jazira in search for a goal but were denied by in-form keeper Ali Khasif, who blocked a close-range header in the 85th minute to seal a 2-0 win for his side.
The match saw Al Jazira coach Marcel Keizer and midfielder Abdullah Ramadan receive their Coach of the Month and Player of the Month awards for November ahead of kick-off.
Following the win, Al Jazira moved back to second place with 20 points, three behind leaders Sharjah, while Al Wahda are eighth and tied on 14 points with Shabab Al Ahli.
Kalba edge past Khorfakkan: Ittihad Kalba came from behind to beat Khorfakkan 2-1 at Saqr Bin Mohammad Al Qassimi Stadium.
Khorfakkan broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark through Ramon Lopes, after he found Omar Juma’s cross inside the box and headed the ball home to to hand his side a 1-0 lead.
Lopes thought he doubled his side’s lead just one minute later, but his effort from the edge of the box was ruled out for an offside.
Six minutes after the restart, Khorfakkan’s Adel Sebil was sent off for a second yellow card. Less than three minutes later, Kalba’s Gabriel Santini was shown a red card for a second booking, as each side was forced to continue the game with 10 men only.
Kalba leveled the scoreline in the 65th minute when forward Peniel Mlapa headed the ball home off a cornerkick to make it 1-1.
The Tigers completed their comeback with four minutes to go, thanks to Davide Mariani’s winning goal. The Swiss midfielder sent a powerful shot from the edge of the box into the bottom corner of the net to clinch the three points for his team.
It is worth noting that Kalba keeper Jamal Abdullah was handed the Goalkeeper of the Month award for November ahead of kick-off.
Kalba are now tied on 16 points with fifth-placed Bani Yas, but sit fourth on goal difference, while Khorfakkan remained in 11th place with five points.
