Al Shabab 3:0 Al Jazira. AFC Champions League. Match Report
www.the-afc.com: Apr. 11, 2022
Al Shabab FC continued their winning start to the AFC Champions League™ 2022 thanks to a 3-0 win against Al Jazira FSC in Group B at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium on Monday.
Carlos Junior broke the deadlock in the sixth minute, before Turki Al Ammar doubled their lead heading into halftime, with the Brazilian securing all three points with his effort in the 78th minute.
It took just six minutes for the Saudi side to take the lead, thanks to Junior, who took the Riyadh-based side ahead with an expertly placed shot past Ali Khaseif, with the assist coming from Abdullah Al Joui, a ball that pierced through two of Al Jazira’s lines before the 26-year-old Brazilian did what he does best.
The score was doubled 12 minutes later through Al Ammar, the 22-year-old midfielder converted after some brilliant footwork following the cutback that was provided to him by full-back Fawaz Al Saqour, who kept Ever Banega’s long pass in play before Al Ammar collected and fired it low past the keeper to make it 2-0.
Junior almost added his second of the night when Al Saqour’s ball was collected by Al Ammar, whose fancy footwork inside the area got him past the defence before he teed up the Brazilian, but his timid shot was stopped from going in by the post.
Al Saqour and Al Ammar combined yet again right before the break, when Marius Sumudica’s charges broke forward in numbers, pegging back the Abu Dhabi-based side’s defence with a string of passes that culminated in a miss by Al Ammar, following a low cross by Al Saqour.
Marcel Keizer’s men finally threatened, when Abdulla Ramadan looped a free-kick into the area but it looked on its way out, before Ali Mabkhout rescued it acrobatically with the ball falling to his strike partner, Zayed Al Ameri who wasn’t able to get a touch on it.
The UAE Pro League’s reigning champions missed a golden chance to claw one back with 20 minutes left on the clock when Mabkhout played Abdoulaye Diaby into space, but the angle presented to him was a difficult one yet his shot was strong and got deflected away by Fawaz Al Qarni, who was hardly tested for large swathes of the game.
Al Shabab sealed the win with their third of the night thanks to Junior who got his brace when Al Jazira’s defence attempted to clear the ball but were closed down by Hussein Al Qahtani, who played the Brazilian through on goal leaving him one on one with Khaseif. A scramble ensued in which the Al Shabab number 13 came out on top to make it 3-0.
Al Shabab made it six out of six points before they face Iraq’s Air Force Club on Matchday Three, while Al Jazira will need to take something from their game against Mumbai City FC, both games taking place on Thursday.
