Al Ahli gain breathing room at top

AL SHAAB 1 AL AHLI 3

Al Shaab - Kilichev 19'

Al Ahli - Ciel 12', Jimenez 47, 72'

Man of the Match - Ciel (Al Ahli)

SHARJAH // Off the pitch, Al Ahli have been having a strange season, plagued with problems.

Cosmin Olaroiu, their coach, is serving a lengthy ban and faces the threat of deportation if he fails to defend himself against the defamation charges levelled against him by Al Ain, his former employers, in the Abu Dhabi courts.

Then, they have been docked three points by the Football Association's Disciplinary Committee for using an ineligible player in the league clash against Al Dhafra.

If not for that oversight, they would have sealed the fate of the league by now with a nine-point lead.

And now, to add to those disturbing episodes, the club have been informed that the Chilean midfielder Luis Jimenez is not eligible to compete as an Asian player in the Champions League because the Asian Football Confederation have rejected his newly acquired Palestinian citizenship.

However, Ahmed Khalifa, the Ahli chief executive, is confident the issue will be resolved in the club’s favour. “There were some papers missing and we will provide them to the AFC,” he said. “It is not a big issue and it will be resolved in the next week.”

Thankfully, for Ahli, things have been a lot better on the field and they remain in the hunt for all three pieces of domestic silverware.

Friday night, they restored their six-point lead at the top of the Arabian Gulf League with a convincing 3-1 win over a spirited Al Shaab.

Jimenez, probably aware of the AFC decision, struck two for the visitors in the second half after Ciel’s 12th-minute opener was cancelled by Shaab’s Oybek Kilichev seven minutes later.

“I think we have won a very important and difficult match, and we deserved to win it,” said Catalin Raducan, Ahli’s assistant coach.

“We were in control. But, again, we made a mistake and received a goal after scoring one.”

Raducan is keen that his players do not make such mistakes in the upcoming matches, which includes difficult away games against Al Ain, Al Jazira and Al Shabab.

“We have an advantage, but it means nothing,” he said.

“We have to remain modest and remember that we have not won anything yet.

“So we need to respect all our opponents and stay focused till the final round, taking it step by step. And don’t forget, we have tough away matches at Al Ain, Jazira and Shabab.”

Shaab are at the opposite end of the table, slipping to 13th after Ajman’s stunning win over Al Jazira earlier in the evening, and coach Zeljko Petrovic was disappointed with the repeated mistakes his players make at crucial junctures.

“I don’t like criticising my players, but the first two goals were a gift,” he said. “We managed to score after conceding the first goal, but then we conceded again in the opening minutes of the first half. That made it really difficult for us and easy for them.

“Of course, I fully understand the players want to give their best, and you can make mistakes sometimes, but if you are playing against a team like Al Ahli, you have to be at 100 per cent right through.

“You cannot afford to make such mistakes.

“Of course, we were playing against a very big team. They are not top of the league for no reason. You can see they have quality all across the pitch. But you don’t have to lose like this. You have to be sharp all the time, and this is what irritates me.

“But we have to stay positive, take the good moments from this game and move forward. [Jesus] Meza and Michael N’dri hit the post twice in the second half. Maybe against another team, those would be goals.

“We know that we are in a dangerous situation. The solution is to be positive because we have many tough matches coming up.”

arizvi@thenational.ae

AJMAN 1 AL JAZIRA 0

Boris Kabi scored in the 56th minute as Ajman clawed out of the relegation zone with another shock result against Al Jazira.

It marked only the second victory in 17 league matches for Ajman, who rose from bottom to 12th, on 12 points.

The defeat left Jazira third in the table, behind Al Shabab. Ajman and Jazira played to a scoreless draw in October, and Kabi scored the decisive goal when Ajman defeated Jazira in the Etisalat Cup final, last May, to win their first trophy in 30 years.

The goal by Kabi, the Ivorian, last night came on a header that hit the ground before bouncing over Ali Kasheif, the Jazira goalkeeper.

The visitors had several chances through Felipe Caicedo and Ali Mabkhout.

SATURDAY’s GAME

AL NASR v EMIRATES

Buoyed by their 2-0 win at Baniyas on Monday, Al Nasr will be looking to inch closer to the top four when they host Emirates on Saturday night.

The victory over Baniyas came after three consecutive losses and the team manager Khalid Obaid said: “That win has come at a very important time and, hopefully, it will put the team back on the right track. We hope this game against Emirates will see us continue on the path of recovery, especially since every point is invaluable at this stage of the league. The players know this and will need no extra motivation. Our goal is to return to the top four.”