Ahli keep ACL hopes alive; The Boss have work to do
dubai — The UAE’s Al Ahli have a precious away goal but Al Ain have it all to do in the home leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 next Monday.
Al Ahli, runners-up in 2015, were held to 1-1 stalemate by their Saudi Arabian namesake at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, while Al Ain, inaugural winners in 2003 and runners-up in 2005 and 2016, were a tad unlucky to go down to Iran’s Esteghlal by a solitary goal in stoppage time, in an ill-tempered encounter at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
Dubai’s Al Ahli had taken the lead on 20 minutes through midfielder Khamis Ismail but Abdulafttah Asiri cancelled that out on 38 minutes.
Although, the first leg ended on level terms, Al Ahli have the advantage of an away goal when they host the Saudi Professional League runners-up in the return leg at the Rashid Stadium on May 29.
Elsewhere, at the Azadi Stadium, Al Ain had done well in front of 67,202 partisan fans, to keep Esteghlal at bay for most of the game until Kaveh Rezaei tucked in the penalty in the second minute of time added on after Lee Myung Joo had handled the ball.
Both teams finished the game with 10 men after Saeed Juma was given a straight red card for a harsh challenge on Seyed Mohsen Karimi, while Farshid Esmaeili was given marching orders after an offthe-ball skirmish with Caio.
Al Ain, who missed out on qualification for next season’s competition, now face a difficult task when they host Esteghlal in the second leg at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on May 29. And their talisman Omar Abdulrahman was confident that his side will give the perfect riposte when the Iranian side come calling next Monday.
“We could have finished goalless but we ended up losing the match. It is disappointing to concede a goal at the end of the game. But we do have a chance to respond in the second leg at home, in front of our fans,” Omar Abdulrahman told Al Ain’s official website.
“All the players gave it their best and we, as a team, should collectively take responsibility for the goal that we conceded. It was not the mistake of one particular player but of the team. But now, we have to look ahead and I’m sure we can compensate for that at home. A defeat sometimes enhances the strength and the desire of the team to make up for the result and achieve the desired goals. And I hope we can give it our absolute best in the second leg and qualify for the quarterfinals,” added Amoory.
Meanwhile, coach Zoran Mamic hoped that they can get the job done at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
“The first leg is over but we still have another game to play. And I believe that, with the support of our loyal fans, we can put in a better performance and make it to the quarterfinals,” said Mamic. The squad, which returned on a private jet, in the early hours of Tuesday, were given the day off by Mamic, and will resume training on Wednesday.