Al Ahli claim another crown

Faisal Al Ketbi with the World Championship Belt as Marcio Barbosa Mansher Khera look on. — Supplied photo

Al Ahli celebrated their third silverware of the season after the Red Knights came from behind to reverse their early 0-1 deficit into a narrow 2-1 victory over ten-man Al Jazira in the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain City on Saturday.

The Dubai side claimed the season’s curtain raiser, the Super Cup after beating Al Ain in a head-to-head clash and they went on to land the Arabian Gulf League title three weeks before the end of the competition. Thereafter, Al Ahli players have prepared themselves to scoop the remaining two titles. And after having successfully achieved the first mission, they are looking forward to repeat when they lock horns against Al Ain in the final of the President Cup at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on May 18.

Al Jazira led 1-0 at half-time. Ali Mabkhout broke the deadlock at the half hour mark from the spot after being brought down inside the area by Walid Abbas, in a bad-tempered match in which the referee booked eight players from Al Jazira including the goal scorer Ali Mabkhout in the first period alone. Hassan Amin, Musallam Faiz, Felipe Caicedo and Khaled Saif were also booked while Ismail Al Hammadi was the only yellow-carded player from Al Ahli. Al Jazira’s Abdullah Qassim and Khamis Ismail were also cautioned in the second half. Hassan Amin was sent off after being booked again in the injury time. However, Al Ahli bounced back and Grafeti levelled the result in the 70^th minute of the closely contested clash. Al Hammadi made it 2-1 in the 82^nd minute.

Al Jazira have won this title in 2010, but though they have failed to continue their good start in the Arabian Gulf League competition, they have shown good signs of improvement in the last few weeks. Most recently, Al Jazira beat Qatar’s Al Rayyan 3-2 in Doha to book one of the two berths reserved for Group-A in the quarter-finals of the 2014 AFC Champions League alongside Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia. The two sides will clash for the lead at the Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the final round of the group stage on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Al Ahli have every chance to advance to the knockout stage when they line up against Qatar’s Al Sadd on Tuesday as a draw will see them going through. And with only the President Cup remaining to be claimed by the emerging football super power, Al Ahli will face rivals Al Ain in the final of the most prestigious championship at the Zayed Sports City Stadium less than a month from now. So, will the Dubai giants set a new record in the history of the country’s football? This is what we will find out by the end of the current season in less than a month from now.