AL AIN // After seeing his team fail to take control of Group B, Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic hopes a victory from their remaining two games will lift them into the round of 16 in the Asian Champions League.
Al Ain took their tally to six points from four games after they were held to a 1-1 result by Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan on Tuesday night at the Hazza bin Zayd Stadium.
Jires Kembo-Ekoko put Al Ain ahead in the 20th minute and Igor Sergeev fired in the equaliser in added time of the first half.
“We missed an opportunity to take control of the group but we have two games and with a victory we still can qualify for the knockout round of this competition,” Dalic said.
“We had a good first half. We had control of the game and scored first and created a second but the goal we conceded shortly before half time put Pakhtakor back in the game. It was a bad time to concede a goal.
“We also created a couple of good scoring chances in the second half, but after a 1-1 result I can still be happy because a point shared is better than conceding three points in an ACL match.”
Al Ain received a massive blow even before the start when Asamoah Gyan had to withdraw from the line-up after complaining of a thigh spasm on the morning of the match.
Gyan led all scorers in the 2014 Champions League, with 12.
He has one in this tournament, having missed two of four matches.
ALSO: Everton Ribeiro comes good for Al Ahli
Kembo-Ekoko stepped into to lead the line with the Ghanaian striker sidelined and did an excellent job. He scored the opening goal from a first-time shot from a low through pass from Rashid Essa.
He had an opportunity to double the lead six minutes later but his effort from inside the area was pushed out by the Pakhtakor goalkeeper Alexander Lobanov, diving full stretch to his left.
When it looked like Al Ain had done enough to go into the break with a one-goal lead the visitors struck.
Sergeev, unmarked on the far post, knocked in a dipping header from Aleksandr Merzlyakov.
“Gyan wasn’t ready for this game, and when you are not ready there is no point playing him and risk him.
“I don’t want to push him or force him to play and lose him for a longer period,” Dalic said.
Al Ain travel to Riyadh for their next Champions League match to face Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia on April 22. Dalic insisted they have not lost any hopes of going beyond the group stage.
“We need to win one of the two remaining games and we are confident we can achieve that,” he said.
Lee Myung-joo couldn’t finish off an excellent move, shooting wide from front of the posts, early in the second half and Kembo-Ekoko had a gilded opportunity to regain the lead five minutes from time.
Omar Abdulrahman set-up the Congolese winger in front of goal but he fired a meek shot which keeper Lobanov had no problem snagging.
Samvel Babayan, the Pakhtakor coach, said the draw was a “normal” result after losing their home leg 1-0 to Al Ain.
“That was a game we could have won and to come here and share a point wasn’t a bad result for us. We had our moments in this game,” he said.
“This group is the toughest and every team in this group still have a chance to qualify for the next round.”
Follow us on Twitter at our new home at NatSportUAE
