Al Jazira can all-too easily be written off as flawed entertainers, surely no match for polished Arabian Gulf League leaders Al Ain in the long run.
This opinion does real disservice to Eric Gerets and his troops. An electric second half saw a one-goal deficit turned into a 4-2 win at fifth-place Al Nasr, a stern test of their mettle being passed.
They didn’t do it with flying colours. Impeccability isn’t in the Pride of Abu Dhabi’s make up.
When home midfielder Tariq Ahmed feinted past Musallem Fayez and fired in at the near post during first-half injury-time, it became easy to wonder if the title fight would be no more.
Entertaining imperfection defines Jazira. Braces from Mirko Vucinic and Jonathan Pitroipa dug them out of a hole, maintaining the four-point gap between first and second place ahead of the international break.
“The players came in at half-time and were a little bit shocked,” Gerets said. “We had a good reaction in the second half, after 90 minutes there was only one team who deserved to win this game.
“We have to win our games and hope Al Ain lose some games.
“We play Ittihad Kalba next [on April 3], and we have lost a lot of points against smaller teams. We cannot afford to make more mistakes.”
Contrasting emotions abounded at Al Maktoum Stadium. Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic admitted the defeat was a serious blow to his hopes of crashing the top four and qualifying for Asian competition during the final six matches.
He said: “It was a crucial game for us. We are losing the chance of making the top four, but we will fight until the end to get there.
“The feeling after this negative result is not good.”
Montenegro centre forward Vucinic was acquired at high cost in the summer from Italian giants Juventus, bringing with him the talent and desire evident in three successive Serie A conquests. His remarkable haul now stands at 23 goals from 19 top-flight games, such lethality continuing to mask Jazira’s ever-present defensive fallibility.
At one stage yesterday, Al Ain appeared to be streaking into the distance. Vucinic came to the rescue, as he always does.
“Vucinic is not only important because of his goals,” Gerets said. “He is important because of his presence, we can count on him in difficult moments.”
A beautiful first-time lob brought the sides level on 48 minutes, dispatching left-back Abdullah Mousa’s searching deep ball with aplomb.
His low effort that squirmed through goalkeeper Ahmad Shambieh from just inside the box soon after was more prosaic but vital in regards to the battle for silverware.
Selfless assist-king Jonathan Pitroipa then breezed through for two more as Jazira slipped into a gear that the second-best defence in the division could not keep up with.
The Burkina Faso winger first raced onto Manuel Lanzini’s instinctive lobbed pass to shoot in low from 10 yards, thumping in from the right of the goal on 80 minutes when uncharacteristic disarray took over Nasr’s rearguard.
This proved key as Blue Wave striker Ibrahima Toure was given complete liberty to half-volley home Pablo Hernandez’s cross in between.
The smiles on the visiting players’ faces upon the final whistle were illustrative. The gap to Al Ain is not one they fear.
