Jo Alves double strike sinks Al Ain

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Jo Alves double strike sinks Al Ain
Al Ain's Lee Myung Joo (right) and Al Shabab's Fahad Khalfan Ali battle for possession in the Arabian Gulf Cup at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

Al Ain - With both teams missing key stars, The Hawks pip The Boss in Gulf Cup tie

By James Jose

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Published: Sun 6 Sep 2015, 12:00 AM

Last updated: Sun 6 Sep 2015, 2:08 PM

Jo Alves headed a brace to help Al Shabab rally from a goal down to defeat a depleted Al Ain in the Arabian Gulf Cup at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Friday night.
The former Manchester City and Brazil striker cancelled out Lee Myung Joo's first half opener, on 68 minutes before netting the match-winner, four minutes from time.
The 2-1 win moved Al Shabab to the top of Group B with two wins out of two. 'The Hawks' had edged past promoted side Dibba Al Fujairah 3-2 in their opening game last week.
Meanwhile, Al Ain, sans a host of their regular first choice players, suffered their first defeat in the competition. 'The Boss' had rallied from a two-goal deficit to hold Al Jazira in the Capital Derby, a week ago.
The double strike also pushed Jo, a summer signing from Atletico Mineiro, to the top of the goal scorers' chart with three goals. The 28-year-old had scored one in the game against Dibba Al Fujairah. He is tied with Al Wahda's Sebastian Tagliabue, who also has three, from the game against Al Fujairah.
Al Ain were without the Abdulrahman brothers Omar and Mohammed, goalkeeper Khalid Essa, defenders Ismail Ahmed, Mohanad Salem, Mohamed Ahmed and Mohammed Fawzi, with the seven on international duty with the UAE, while striker Emmanuel Emenike was also away on international duty with Nigeria. Mohammed Fayez was out injured.
Al Shabab were missing Hassan Ibrahim and Mohammed Ayed, who were with the UAE squad, while Azizbek Haydarov was away with Uzbekistan. Mohammed Marzooq and Rashid Hassan were out injured, while club captain Carlos Villanueva, who was doubtful prior to the game, came on as a second half substitute.
Al Shabab came close to taking the lead on 10 minutes but Henrique Luvannor's effort hit the woodwork after Jo had fed him following a Dawood Ali cross.
Not to be outdone, Al Ain came up with a number of sorties and broke the deadlock with five minutes left in the half. The impressive Saeed Al Kathiri hoodwinked the Al Shabab defence before setting it up for Lee Myung Joo, who slotted it home with ease.
Al Shabab coach Caio Junior brought on Villanueva at the start of the second half and it worked as the Chilean weaved his way past four defenders before firing in an inch perfect cross to the far post. And Jo popped up to head it past goalkeeper Mahmoud Al Mas for the equaliser.
Al Ain went in search of the lead again and came close through Ryan Babel on 83 minutes. But the Dutchman, who has been in the centre of a twitter controversy more recently, saw his powerful freekick punched away by goalkeeper Salem Abdulla.
But it was Al Shabab who took the lead and the three points, three minutes later, with Jo netting his second of the night. Dawood Ali crossed from the right and Jo made no mistake with the header.
james@khaleejtimes.com 


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