Al Ain confirmed champions in Arabian Gulf League

A Bani Yas player clears a free-kick against Al Jazira. — KT photo by Shoaib Anwer

Abu Dhabi — A little after 10.45pm on Friday night, some 150km away from Abu Dhabi, there were celebrations in Al Ain after events which unfolded in the UAE Capital.

Al Jazira’s sixth loss, a thumping 4-2 defeat to Bani Yas at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, confirmed Al Ain as the boss of the Arabian Gulf League.

Al Jazira only had a mathematical chance with a few games remaining but whatever little hopes they had, were consigned to the dust by the Sky Blues.

A 10-point cushion meant Al Ain sealed a third title in four years and a record 12th League title in the UAE flight, with three games to spare. Al Ain have 55 points, while Al Jazira have 45. Meanwhile, Bani Yas logged 29 points with their seventh victory and are placed eighth.

Joan Verdu, Mohamed Jaber, Bandar Al Ahbabi and Mohamed Naser scored for Bani Yas, while the League’s top scorer Mirko Vucinic and Jonathan Pitroipa scored for Al Jazira.

“We made two mistakes early on in the game and they capitalised on those and scored. We had opportunities to reduce the lead and stay in the game but we couldn’t and the match slipped away from our grasp,” said Al Jazira coach Eric Gerets.

Al Jazira must now pick up the pieces and ensure they don’t lose second spot. Third-placed Al Shabab and fourth-placed Al Wahda are the ones hunting them down.

“It was not a good result for us. I think after this result, we should recover and fight back and try and hold on to second in the League,” Al Jazira coach Eric Gerets said.

“I told my players that they are the same players who scored and kept us in the fight for the title. And now, they need to stand up like men and fight back. Our main objective now is to keep second spot in the League,” he added.

And the Belgian felt they can bounce back from this reverse. “Every team goes through a lean patch and we experienced it now. But I am sure that we can regroup and bounce back in the remaining games,” said Gerets.

Meanwhile, Bani Yas coach Luis Garcia heaved a sigh of relief after this result. The Sky Blues had logged only three points from the previous seven games and this win lifted the gloom, so to speak.

“We hadn’t fared well in the past seven games and were disappointed. So, this result is a huge relief. We played really well and deserved this win against a strong team like Al Jazira,” said Garcia.

Bani Yas went ahead on 12 minutes through Joan Verdu, who came up with a solo before finishing it well. They doubled the lead three minutes later through Mohamed Jaber, who brilliantly headed it past goalkeeper Ali Khaseif.

And they were relentless in the second half with Bandar Al Ahbabi scoring the fourth on 70 minutes. Al Jazira got themselves on the scoresheet with Mirko Vucinic scoring his 24th League goal but the Sky Blues further away with Mohamed Naser netting the fourth in the final minute of regulation time.

Al Jazira pulled one back through Jonathan Pitroipa in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

james@khaleejtimes.com