Al Ain too good for El Jaish
abu dhabi — An ‘earthquake’ struck Al Ain on Tuesday night and the epicentre was Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. The stadium reverberated with brute yell of celebrations during the first leg of the AFC Champions League semifinals.
‘We are the boss’ proclaimed Ainawi supporters and the team played like a leader as goals from skipper Omar Abdulrahman, commonly known as Amoory, striker Dyanfres Douglas and new signing Caio Fernandes destroyed Qatari side El Jaish. The visitors were able to pull one back through a secondhalf penalty to end at 3-1.
This was a near-perfect team effort for Al Ain. New signing Caio Fernandes showed his range and calibre, ‘Amoory’ was sublime and Fawzi Fayez effective. Mohnad Salem was rock solid in defence and blocked many threatening moves. Danilo Asprilla came in as a substitute and frustrated the defence and Al Ain fans too. He had some three chances gone awry.
The encounter began on a high note and it stayed throughout the match. Right from the start, onfield incidents were ominous for Al Ain. Two free kicks, two Omar deliveries and two fumbles by keeper Khalifa Ababacar. The No. 16 was a sorry figure in front of goal. And in the 16th minute Al Ain struck. It was a fine pass by Saeed Mosabah to Omar Abdulrahman, who on the turn outsmarted El Jaish defence to chip a pass for Dyanfres Douglas to head Al Ain ahead.
Five minutes later ‘Amoory’ converted through a free-kick. He bended the ball into the right corner of the goal. Ababacar flew but couldn’t touch the delivery. By now, the Qatari defence was limping and attacks continued to flow.
El Jaish too had their moments. Their Uzbek star Sardor Rashidov was a constant bother. In the dying moments of first half, Brazilian forward Romarinho Ricardo even disturbed the woodwork.
Ten minutes after the break, the Qatari side pulled one back but through a harsh penalty. Rashidov was on the run and shot towards the goal. Defender Ismail Ahmed made a slide and the ball hit his hand inside the danger area. The referee pointed to the spot. And the striker’s penalty had Khalid Eisa go the wrong way.
Minutes later Al Ain had a good chance wasted. Omar made a bisecting pass from the centre to find Douglas, who was on the run. Ababacar ran forward and the Brazilian had an open goal to chip but failed.
Soon coach Zlatko Dalic made his first change — Danilo Asprilla came in for Mohammed Abdulrahman. The Colombian had at least three chances but failed to find the target. In the 82nd minute, Ababacar had to be at his acrobatic best to keep a Douglas strike. Another goal was in the air.
And in the 90th minute, Al Ain completed the rout. Omar floated a ball into the danger area. Ababacar rushed forward to punch it out but missed and the ball fell to Caio. He had a second to look at the empty goal and then blasted in to make it 3-1 on a magical night.
With this win, Al Ain have got one back on the Qatari side. The ‘Boss’ had lost previous two group stage encounters. And now the action shifts to Doha with return leg on October 18.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com