Al Jazira languish at the bottom

A 5-1 thrashing from Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli leaves them with an uphill task to qualify for the ACL's knockout stages now.

Al Jazira face an uphill task to qualify for the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League following a 5-1 thrashing from the Saudi side Al Ahli on Tuesday night. The loss leaves Jazira bottom of Group A, with just one point from their opening three games. Jazira found themselves behind early after a goal from Victor Simoes in just the second minute. The visitors were then able to keep their hosts at bay until the second half, but two goals in three minutes ended the game as a contest. Marcinho doubled Ahli's lead after 55 minutes before Abduraheam Jaizawi made it 3-0 shortly afterwards. Toni pulled a goal back for Jazira five minutes later before Marcinho and Jezawi both scored again to seal a comfortable win for Ahli. The two sides meet in Abu Dhabi next week with Ahli now two points clear of Jazira in the standings. Esteghelal's 3-0 win over Al Gharafa earlier in the day means the Iranians now lead the table with seven points, one ahead of the Qataris. [e-mail]