AL AIN // Ahmed Khalil insists Al Ahli must maintain focus for this weekend President’s Cup semi-final against Al Dhafra, after they advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Dubai club defeated domestic rivals Al Ain on the away-goal rule, coming back from Asamoah Gyan’s early strike to eventually draw 3-3 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. The first leg, one week previously, had finished 0-0.
Report: Al Ahli progress to Champions League quarter-finals after six-goal thriller with Al Ain
Khalil was integral to Ahli’s progression to the last eight, with the UAE striker scoring two goals in a frantic five-minute spell at the beginning of the second half in which the visitors struck three times. Salmeen Khamis notched the other.
Al Ain responded to again score twice, with Gyan and Rashid Essa getting the goals, but it was not enough for the UAE champions.
Ahli now shift attention to the President’s Cup, where they travel to Dhafra on Saturday for the last-four encounter. Cosmin Olaroiu’s side, beaten finalists last season, are attempting to secure the trophy for a record ninth time.
“Thankfully we played a very strong match, my teammates and the technical staff have done very well,” Khalil said. “The next step is we have to think about the cup. The coaches will decide how we move forward, to give the best we can. We don’t want to stop here, we have to think about going further. We can do better than this — I hope we can reach the final.”
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE
