Hatta 0-5 Al Jazira
Jazira: Mabkhout 38', 65', (pen) 90', Goncalves (OG) 51', Ailton 86'
Man of the match: Ali Mabkhout (Al Jazira)
HATTA // Henk ten Cate praised Al Jazira’s teamwork as key to winning the Arabian Gulf League, as the Abu Dhabi club’s “dream finally came true” on Saturday night.
The capital side, champions once previously, defeated Hatta 5-0 at the Hamdan bin Rashid Stadium to seal a first UAE championship in six years with two matches to spare. Ali Mabkhout was the standout, scoring three times in the rout.
The result means second-placed Al Ahli, last season’s champions, cannot catch Jazira, who now provisionally qualify for this year’s Fifa Club World Cup, which takes place in the UAE in December.
For Ten Cate, it marks a superb 16 months in the job. The Dutchman, who earlier this week turned down an offer to manage the Netherlands, also guided the club last May to the President's Cup crown.
“I’m a happy man,” Ten Cate said. “Our dream came true, finally. If you believe in something you can achieve it. We don’t have the best players — we know this — but for sure we have the best team. We demonstrate that week-in, week-out.
Al Jazira manager Hen ten Cate is a “happy man”. Courtesy AGL
“If you score 67 goals, and concede only 15 — this is our 14th clean sheet — it’s something special. It’s really something special. I’m very proud.
“The season is not over yet. We still have two games to go and the team said they want to break the all-time record in points and victories. Not one team before has won 22 games, and this is now what they’re aiming for: to write history, and real history. If you look at the amount of goals we scored, and conceded, we’re top in both. So there is only one team who deserve the championship this year. And that is us.”
Jazira’s march to the league title breaks the stranglehold on the top-flight trophy shared by Ahli and Al Ain. In the past five seasons, dating back to Jazira’s only other UAE championship, only those two clubs have won the title.
Ali Mabkhout, centre, scored a hat-trick against Hatta. Courtesy AGL
“It’s the second in the history of the club, so it means something really special to the club and to the fans,” Ten Cate said. “If you’re always trailing two other teams and now you are on top yourself, it gives great satisfaction — especially because of the work they did.
“When I started here, the group made a fantastic change, where they realised if the group do it together, then we could win something, starting with the President’s Cup last year.
“But you have to strongly believe in this, you have to work your socks off, you have to be dedicated to the things you do. They grew into such a strong force and their only focus was to win the league, which they have done. They should be extremely proud.”
Al Jazira players celebrate with the Arabian Gulf League trophy. Hassan Alraisi / Aletihad
Jazira will be extremely pleased with how they clinched the league crown. Mabkhout opened the scoring against Hatta on 38 minutes, heading home Mbark Boussoufa’s cross. Home forward Samuel Gonclaves then doubled the visitors’ advantage six minutes after half-time, when he glanced Leonardo’s corner into his own net, before Mabkhout got his second not long after the hour.
Substitute Ailton Almeida added a fourth with four minutes remaining, leaving Mabkhout to round off the night, and complete his hat-trick, from the penalty spot following a foul on Khalfan Mubarak.
It took Mabkhout to 31 goals for the league season, lifting him seven clear of Al Wasl’s Fabio De Lima at the top of the goalscoring charts and extending his own record for an Emirati in the professional era.
“We have one phenomenon: Ali Mabkhout,” Ten Cate said. “He is special. Man, he is special. I feel sorry for him that he’s not so appreciated in this country. But I work with him every day and the guy has absolute special qualities.
“It’s not easy to score so many goals. He’s a local player now with 31 goals. Thirty-one in 23 matches. We’re very happy with him. Of course, the team is doing a lot of things for him, but he pays the team back with his goals and his skills.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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