Al Jazira took another step toward claiming their second Arabian Gulf Cup title after a 3-0 demolition of Dibba at the Fujairah Club Stadium last night.
Returning to domestic competition following a 26-day international break, Jazira were 2-0 ahead by half time with Ali Mabkhout and Khalfan Mubarak on target.
Leonardo sealed the game with a 79th-minute strike to take Jazira’s tally to 56 points with four games left. They are now nine clear of second-placed Al Ahli, who meet Al Wasl tonight.
After sustained early pressure that brought with it a number of chances, a goal looked imminent for Jazira.
However, it took until five minutes before half time for the breakthrough to arrive.
Dibba defender Hamdan Qasem brought down Mubarak in the penalty area and Mabkhout stepped up to score from the spot for his 27th AGL goal of the season.
Mubarak doubled the lead when he curled in a free kick from 25 yards three minutes later.
With Jazira all but assured of victory, the visitors struck again when Mabkhout slipped in a pass for Leonardo to send a low shot past Dibba goalkeeper Fahd Mohammed at the near post.
“It’s a good start for us coming after the international break,” UAE striker Mabkhout said.
“We still need to win two more games to lay our hands on a second AGL title.
“The two goals we scored before the break were the key to our win. We created several chances prior to that but creating chances and not scoring wasn’t good enough.”
When asked of his own performance as the leading scorer in the league, Mabkhout said: “Indeed, it’s been a good season for me but more important are goals that I score can win games for the team.
“Of course, I wouldn’t have that many times if it wasn’t for the support of my teammates.”
Al Wahda manager Javier Aguirre said a top-four finish is not out of their reach after his team’s 2-1 win over the relegation-threatened Emirates at Ras Al Khaimah.
“This has been our objective since we dropped out of the AGL race,” he said.
“We have four games to play, including Al Ahli and Al Ain, but after our fourth successive win, I feel we can do it.”
Wahda took the lead in the third minute when Iraqi centre-back Ahmed Ibrahim attempted to clear Mohamed Al Akberi’s cross from the right flank but instead sent it past his own goalkeeper.
Sebastian Sacha levelled after a mistake from Wahda goalkeeper Rashed Ali, who rushed forward to clear a long ball, but misjudged the flight of the ball.
Wahda regained the lead in added time of the first half when Rim Chang-woo delivered a long throw-in into the Emirates penalty area that was nodded on by Al Akberi for winger Tareq Ahmed to chest the ball down before firing on the half-volley past Saqr.
apassela@thenational.ae
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