ABU DHABI // Al Jazira manager Henk ten Cate says his players deserve respect for what they have achieved in the Arabian Gulf League thus far — regardless of what happens in Wednesday’s home match against Al Ain.
Jazira are returning to the pitch for the first time since their 2-1 defeat to second-placed Al Ahli last week and will face third-placed Al Ain at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium where the table-toppers remain undefeated in nine league games.
The Abu Dhabi club’s defeat to Ahli on Saturday was only their second in 20 AGL games and second in more than seven months. It is a statistic Ten Cate described as “amazing” and one the Dutchman said he was proud of.
“When I signed 10 months ago, did anyone expect Jazira to be in a situation where they are No 1 with six points difference from the other teams?” he said.
“Nobody can take that away from us. The players have done an exceptional job. They deserve all the credit.
“Importantly, we have done this with young players, six of them are under 22. Tell me one team which plays with such young players.
“So, regardless of the result [Wednesday], still we will be the No 1 because we are in a situation like that, which is amazing.”
Jazira's lead can be cut to three if they lose to Al Ain and Ahli leave Al Dhafra with three points in Wednesday's other game.
Yet Ten Cate refused to talk up the significance of his side’s fixture.
“Every game is important for us — home or away,” he said. “The players were disappointed because we lost in the 85th minute [to Ahli], which I think we shouldn’t have lost. But this is football. Sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you are not.
“I saw the disappointment after that game, but the smiles are back on the players’ faces when they returned for training, and that’s a good sign.”
When asked if the pressure was on his players following that defeat, Ten Cate said: “Whether you are playing the first game or fifth or 10th with Al Ain or Al Ahli, there is a certain amount of tension. It is on both sides as these are the top teams from UAE.
“For me as a coach it is the easiest match because every player wants to play this game. You don’t need to put extra attention to focus because all are charged up.
Jazira defeated Al Ain 3-1 away earlier this season, but Ten Cate did not see Al Ain as a different team under new manager Zoran Mamic, who replaced Zlatko Dalic five weeks ago.
“They play in the same system with the main player being Omar Abdulrahman,” Ten Cate said.
“If there have been any changes, maybe, one player play from the right and other has been switched to the left but they are the same names.”
Mamic, however, talked a good game when he said pressure would indeed be on the league leaders, especially after defeat.
“They will be eager to put the loss behind and try to consolidate their lead in the league so that no team can challenge them,” he said.
“For us, we are not thinking of the league title, but win the next game, which is against Jazira.”
Meanwhile, Sharjah will be hoping to end their 10-match drought without a win when they host Kalba in the early game on Thursday. Al Wahda will be at home to Baniyas in the late match.
On Friday, Al Wasl host Emirates, Dibba travel to Hatta and Al Shabab meet Al Nasr.
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