Ibrahim gives Al Nasr hope

ABU DHABI // The substitute Jamal Ibrahim scored two minutes from time to give Al Nasr a 2-1 win over Al Jazira in the Etisalat Cup, yet they will have to wait until the outcome of tomorrow night's matches to see if they go through to the semi-finals as the best second-placed team from the three groups. Jazira had already qualified as the Group C leaders but the game was important for Nasr, who had to win to keep their slim hopes alive at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. Ibrahim regained the lead for Nasr after Younus Ahmed's 25th-minute lead was cancelled out just past the hour by Abdulla Qasem. Ahmed got past a couple of defenders before firing a rocket that hit the inside of the post and crashed against the back of the net while Qasem headed a corner that deflected off a defender in a game that saw both teams fielding their reserves. Jazira had a great opportunity of going in front but Ali Mabkhout was wide with his effort when faced with only the goalkeeper Hameed Abdulla, who also had made a superb save by pushing a curling 30-yard strike from Mohammed Salem Mubarak shortly before half-time. And in-between, the Jazira stopper Khalid Saif made a fine save by pushing out a free kick from Mahmoud Hassan. The result took Nasr's tally to nine points, two ahead of Baniyas and Ajman in Group B, and three more than Al Ahli in Group A. Al Wahda and Al Ain are the two others to qualify as the group leaders. Emirate scored twice in injury time after Al Wasl's Rashid Ali was red carded to win their tie 2-1 in another game that had no bearing from the same group.

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