The sooner this wretched season ends for ailing UAE giants Al Jazira, the better. On top of a miserable campaign domestically for the Pride of Abu Dhabi, Henk ten Cate’s men are in real danger of being eliminated from the AFC Champions League as the worst of the 32 teams competing in the group stages.
Already eliminated before last night’s meek 3-1 home defeat to Pakhtakor, the capital city side have a solitary point with one game remaining. Only Thailand’s Buriram United – who are pointless – have a worse record.
For Jazira their downfall was all too familiar. Ali Mabkhout’s 62nd minute penalty levelled Sherzodbek Karimov’s sublime free-kick opener but less than 120 seconds later they were behind again through calamitous defending.
Igor Sergeev’s second-half double condemned Ten Cate’s side to defeat and kept alive his side’s own hopes of progression to the knockout stages.
There was no lack of effort from the hosts, who rallied after they had fallen behind to Karimov as early as the 10th minute. Jazira goalkeeper Khalid Al Senani got a hand to his 25-yard effort but could only deflect it onto the crossbar and in.
Led by the busy Mabkhout and Thiago Neves, Jazira went about restoring pride from a nightmarish continental campaign. UAE forward Mabkhout and young strike partner Ahmed Al Attas had the best chances. Mabkhout was thwarted by visiting ‘keeper Nikita Ribkin before releasing Al Attas who skewed wide.
Mabkhout restored hope from the spot after Ribkin had felled Al Attas. After losing parity, however, it never looked like another equaliser was going to come. For Jazira, the end of the 2015-16 campaign cannot arrive quickly enough.
