Vucinic dazzles as Jazira rout Emirates

Mirko Vucinic netted the first hat trick of this 2014/2015 Arabian Gulf League

Dubai - Mirko Vucinic netted the first hat trick of this 2014/2015 Arabian Gulf League (AGL) season as Al Jazira comfortably overcame Emirates 3-0 in the national capital.

The Montenegrin forward, 30, scored thrice in 13 second-half minutes to send the unbeaten Spiders spinning up to the top of the table with two victories and a draw from their opening three AGL games.

However, their stay at the summit may well have been short-lived should Al Wahda have prevailed or drawn at Bani Yas on Friday evening. That AGL match was taking place as Khaleej Times went to press last night.

Much of the fare on show at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday night was largely forgettable until just after the hour mark, when the home side broke the deadlock.

Abdulla Ali inexplicably handled in the penalty area following a corner kick and former Juventus striker Vucinic stepped up to clinically despatch the subsequent spot-kick with characteristic aplomb.

Six minutes later, it was two for Jazira and their new talisman as Abdulla Moussa’s centre found him lurking at the back post and an instinctive strike did the rest.

The three points were then wrapped up 15 minutes from time as a bullet header from the hosts’ marquee summer signing, who now has four goals from three matches thanks to this treble, rounded off a convincing performance from Jazira.

“I cannot say it was a sensational win,” Jazira’s Belgian coach Eric Gerets admitted afterwards in his post-match Press conference. “But, claiming the three points is what matters at the end of the day and we didn’t concede a goal for the first time in three matches, which is another positive we can take away from this game.

“When my players came in for the half-time break, I told them that no matter what, we must win these three points.

“My team woke up in the second half and they gave a good performance for which I can be happy. This performance gave me a good feeling and I will look more positively for the next game.”

Gerets’ counterpart at Emirates, Paulo Comelli, blamed some costly errors for his side’s second successive defeat following an opening-day 1-0 success at newly-promoted Fujairah.

“The penalty was the turning point,” the 54-year-old Brazilian boss explained. “We made a few mistakes and, when you do that against teams like Jazira, you pay a heavy price for it.”