Al Ain held at home by Al Rayyan
abu dhabi — UAE’s Al Ain were held to 1-1 draw by Qatari club Al Rayyan in the AFC Champions League Group D match at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
After a first-round stalemate, the ‘Boss’ meant business and started with a flurry of attacks. In six minutes, Marcus Berg had an attempt from the right flank. Three minutes on Al Ain won a penalty as winger Caio was fouled by defender Mohammed Alaaeldin. And Berg converted by placing the ball into bottom right corner.
Brothers Omar Abdulrahman and Mohammed Abdulrahman kept up the pressure as Al Ain enjoyed a good spell. In 18 minutes, Al Ain midfielder Rayan Yaslam tested Al Rayyan goal with a long-ranger.
There was a brief shift in momentum as Al Rayyan returned into the game with Ahmed El Sayed’s shot from outside the box. In 27 minutes, Al Rayyan drew level as Mohamed Ahmed was penalised for foul on Abderazak Hamdallah. The Moroccan striker shot to the bottom left corner to make it 1-1.
Al Ain could have immediately restored the lead but Berg couldn’t find target with his header.
In the closing stages of the firsthalf Al Ain missed lots of chances. El Shahat struck the left post from Omar’s fine pass. Yaslam then had shots saved by keeper Oumar Barry. Caio had a couple of attempts on goal but it remained level at half time despite complete control by Al Ain.
Minutes into the second half, Caio had another chance wasted as he missed with his placement from left side. In 52 minutes, Omar raised hopes with a free-kick in dangerous position but shot wide. Close to an hour mark, Mohammed Abdulrahman and El Shahat both had failed attempts from right flank.
Looking to change things, coach Zoran Mamic replaced Mohammed Abdulrahman with Mohanad Salem. With 10 minutes left, Mamic also brought in Ahmed Khalil. Al Ain pushed all resources and Ahmed Barman had a match winning shot on goal but that too was saved. Four minutes of added time didn’t give Al Ain a second goal. It was upsetting result after a total domination by the home side.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com