Both sides had collected one point from their opening matches, with Al Jazeera drawing Al Najma 1-1 in Bahrain and Kuwait SC being held to a goalless draw by Syria’s Al Ittihad in Kuwait City last week.
Omar Al Manasreh delivered the first warning to the Kuwaiti side, launching a thunderous effort from 30 yards out after Ahmed Saleh had laid the ball back to him. Goalkeeper Hameed Youssuf was, however, alert to the threat, producing a fine reflex save to keep the scores level.
Youssuf was called for the rescue again at the half-hour mark as Mahmoud Al Mardi curled in from the left flank, but the Kuwaiti goalkeeper once again showed his quality.
Coach Nizar Mahrous’ men continued their strategy of trying to score from outside the net as Kuwait SC’s low block prevented them from penetrating the penalty area, but Al Mardi and co were unlucky as the first half ended goalless.
Zaatra thought he had given Al Jazeera the lead 11 minutes into the second half when his header nestled into the back of the net, but the flag had already gone up ruling him offside.
Two minutes later, he would celebrate scoring in the exact same way, this time his positioning was perfect and his flying header from Feras Shelbaieh’s cross announced the only goal of the match for the Jordanian side.
With four points to their name, Al Jazeera welcome Syria’s Al Ittihad to Amman on Matchday Three, while Kuwait SC will travel to Bahrain in pursuit of their first win as they face Al Najma on April 2.
