Late goals handed Al Jazira a 2-0 win over Ittihad Kalba at Mohammad bin Zayed Stadium in matchweek 3 of the Arabian Gulf League on Thursday night.
Just before the quarter-hour mark, Davide Mariani corner found Peniel Mlapa who headed the ball just above the net.
On the other side of the field, Zayed Al Ameri managed to get the ball past Ittihad Kalba’s defense but lost possession, only for the ball to reach his teammate Ali Mabkhout, but his effort was saved by keeper Jamal Al Sarrah in the 23rd minute.
In the 37th, Mlapa kept possession of the ball and controlled it until he reached the penalty box where he passed it to Junior Fernandes. The Kalba forward fired made an outstanding shot only to be saved by Ali Khasif.
On the one-hour mark, the Pride of Abu Dhabi were awarded a foul. Mabkhout was up for it and fired a powerful effort, only to hit the left post of Al Sarrah’s goal.
Only eight minutes from time, the Tigers' Junior Fernandes netted an own goal to hand the hosts a 1-0 advantage.
To further complicate things for Kalba, Al Jazira doubled their lead in the 88th minute. Milos Kosanovic fired the ball off a freekick into Al Sarrah’s net to seal a 2-0 win for the Pride of Abu Dhabi.
This marks Al Jazira's first win of the season as they now have five points and moved temporarily to fourth place. Meanwhile, Ittihad Kalba are 10th with three points.
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