Coach Abel Braga celebrated the first win of his second spell at Al Jazira as goals from Jefferson Farfan and Ahmed Al Attas earned them a narrow victory over Sharjah.
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The Pride of Abu Dhabi suffered a surprise 2-1 reversal in their AGL opener against Al Wasl, before a late comeback from Al Ain in the Arabian Gulf Cup secured a 2-2 result.
This had taken the edge off the 62-year-old’s return to the club in which he lifted every major domestic honour from 2008-11.
His side were made to scrap for victory at Sharjah Stadium last night, despite taking a 2-0 lead into the final 10 minutes.
They had already survived two strikes of the woodwork from Brazilians Maicosuel and Wanderley in the first half, prior to the former’s deep set piece evading everyone to creep into the goal at the death. The visitor’s trademark attacking strength got them through.
SHARJAH 1-2 AL JAZIRA. watch #Farfan and Al Attas goals via the link: https://t.co/VqUS15lZ5i via @YouTube
— AlJazira FC Official (@AlJazira_uae) September 13, 2015
Peru international Farfan – a €6 million (Dh24.2m) summer buy from Schalke 04 – opened the scoring on 39 minutes. The forward had been hauled off at half-time on debut as he struggled with the punishing summer conditions in the UAE. But he was brighter on Sunday, tapping in the rebound from excellent fellow new boy Thiago Neves’ stinging low shot.
Jazira’s grip on the match was strengthened on 73 minutes through promising striker Al Attas. The 19-year-old – a recent call-up to Mahdi Ali’s UAE senior squad – created daylight with a sharp header.
The capital outfit needed this help, as Maicosuel embarrassed Ali Khaseif and the defence which was the third-worst in the AGL last term. But it proved too little, too late for the winless hosts.
