Al Jazira kicked off their ADNOC Pro League campaign with a 2-0 win over hosts Hatta at Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in the opening matchweek.
Simon Banza and Ali Almemari scored the goals in the 48th and 93rd minutes, respectively, to secure all three points for Al Jazira.
Al Jazira ended the first half with a 1-0 lead after Banza broke the deadlock with a header in the 48th minute. The visitors had enjoyed the greater share of possession, recording 62.6% compared to Hatta’s 37.4%.
Al Jazira created several chances during the first half, with Vinicius Mello’s header in the 15th minute saved by Hatta goalkeeper Marzooq Rashed, while Felicio Mendes fired narrowly wide in the 29th minute.
Hatta’s best opportunity of the first half came in the 40th minute when Firas Ben Larbi fired from the edge of the penalty area, with his effort going just over Al Jazira’s goal.
Hatta made several changes in the second half as they looked for an equaliser, but Al Jazira maintained their advantage. Ravel Tagir came close to doubling the visitors’ lead in the 77th minute, but his header went wide.
In the 86th minute, Al Badwawi denied Al Jazira a second goal with a fine save from Ali Almemari’s effort inside the penalty area.
Almemari made amends in the third minute of stoppage time, scoring from inside the box to double Al Jazira’s lead and seal the 2-0 victory.
Al Jazira’s superiority was also reflected in the statistics, with the visitors recording 88.21% passing accuracy compared to Hatta’s 70.75%. Al Jazira registered 11 shots, including five on target, while Hatta managed four attempts without registering a shot on target.
Banza, meanwhile, picked up where he left off last season. The striker scored Al Jazira’s final ADNOC Pro League goal of the 2025-26 campaign against Bani Yas before opening the club’s scoring account this season against Hatta.
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