Streppel happy to see Al Jazira advance after deserved victory

Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira head coach Jurgen Streppel believes his side fully deserved their win against Oman’s Al Nasr in the Mohammed VI Champions Cup.

A brace from Zayed Al Ameri and a strike from Mourad Batna helped the club to a 3-1 victory in the second leg on Monday night, winning 4-1 on aggregate to book their berth in the last-16 stage. Streppel was pleased with how his team played throughout the match.

“I am very happy that we won the match and to qualify to the next round,” said Streppel during the post-match press conference.

“We scored from our first opportunity and we were fortunate to still have the lead as Al Nasr had some opportunities to score.

“But we improved as the game went on and were the better side in the second half. We improved all aspects and scored twice. It was a well deserved victory for us.”

UAE star Omar Abdulrahman started his first match for Al Jazira since joining the club over the summer while Ali Khaseif and Ali Mabkhout were rested for the game.

Streppel said the result justified his team selection ahead of the team’s Arabian Gulf League match against city rivals Al Wahda on Friday.

“There will always be questions about players who are on the bench,” he said. “I have to give chances to all players and it was also important that players like Omar and Mourad play some minutes as they are recovering from injuries.

“We have a strong squad and we will be fit and ready for the derby match against Al Wahda.”

Al Jazira is well known for supporting the home-grown talents, and the club has the best football academy in the country; one of the academy top graduates is Ali Mabkhout, the historical goal scorer of Al Jazira, and the top scorer of the Asian Cup 2015.

Al Jazira Club has a rich and successful history, winning the Federation Cup in 2006, The Gulf Clubs Championship in 2007, as well as the Etisalat Cup in 2009-2010. Al Jazira also clinched the Arabian Gulf League in 2011 and repeated the feat in 2017. Their three President’s Cup successes were achieved in 2011, 2012 and 2016, while they also finished fourth in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup.