• Home
• /
• Football

Al Jazira edge past Al Rayyan

Al Jazira began their AFC Champions League campaign with a nervous win over Qatar’s Al Rayyan in their Group A fixture at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night.

Team from UAE survive scare in AFC Champions League opener

Al Jazira began their AFC Champions League campaign with a nervous win over Qatar’s Al Rayyan in their Group A fixture at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night. Goals from Felipe Caicedo, Abdulaziz Barrada and Ahmed Rabia Al Ghilani gave the Abu Dhabi giants 3-2 win. Luis Oscar and Kalu Uche scored for Al Rayyan.

Al Jazira were cruising in what should have been an easy walk in the park after two early goals from Felipe Caicedo and Abdelaziz Barrada. But Luis Oscar reduced the margin in the second half. Al Ghilani then added a third for Al Jazira and it should have ended that way.

But a complacent Al Jazira allowed Al Rayyan to reduce the margin in stoppage time through Kalu Uche, to give the hosts some anxious moments. Luckily, it didn’t prove to be costly. Nevertheless, it was the perfect start for Walter Zenga’s men as they mount an assault on the Champions League. It was Al Jazira’s eighth win in 32 games and their fifth win in 17 games at home in the Asian competition.

For Al Rayyan, it was their fifth defeat in five visits to the UAE. They were beaten 3-0 at Al Wahda in 2007, 2-0 at Emirates Club in 2011, 3-2 at Al Jazira in 2012 and 2-1 at Al Ain last year. Al Rayyan have a poor away record in the AFC Champions League with only one win — against Uzbek side Nasaf in 2012, and 12 defeats in 15 matches on the road.

Al Jazira made their intentions clear and went ahead as early as the third minute through Felipe Caicedo from a brilliant assist from Moroccan Abdelaziz Barrada. Barrada sent in an inch perfect cross from the left which found Caicedo. Caicedo, who slipped it past the goalkeeper.

Al Jazira doubled the lead even before the celebrations could die down with Barrada getting on the scoresheet on nine minutes, after a defensive lapse. The Al Rayyan defence failed to make a clearance and Caicedo pounced on it and took a crack. But it hit the goalkeeper and came back into play. Barrada pounced on the rebound and slotted it home with ease.

Al Rayyan came up with a flurry of attempts leading up to half-time but couldn’t find a way through. Oscar sent in a fine floater from the left but Yakubu, who joined from China’s Guangzhou R&F, saw his header go wide of the post from close range. Yakubu came close again on 43 minutes but his lunging header was collected by goalkeeper and captain Ali Khaseif. Al Rayyan reduced the margin with Oscar slotting in a rebound into the left corner of the net past a diving Khaseif, on 59 minutes.

But Al Jazira increased the gap with Ahmed Rabia Al Ghilani popping up to head home a curling corner from Barrada, on 73 minutes.

Al Rayyan made a fist of it in stoppage time by scoring their second after a blunder from Ali Khaseif. Khaseif made a feeble clearance which fell in the path of Kalu Uche. Uche, who joined from Turkish side Kasimpasa, pounced on it and drove it home, in the second of four minutes of added time.