Al Wasl 0 Al Ain 1
Al Ain M Abdulrahman 18'
Man of the match Mohammed Abdulrahman (Al Ain)
DUBAI // Zlatko Dalic saluted the spirit of his team on Monday night after Al Ain, missing their irrepressible attacking duo of Omar Abdulrahman and Asamoah Gyan, fought their way to a 1-0 win at Al Wasl.
In the absence of his injured younger brother, Mohammed Abdulrahman played the lead role for the visitors. He scored the lone goal of the game in the 18th minute and then helped his teammates fight for the next 72 minutes to protect that lead against a spirited hosts.
“We played without two of our best players – Omar and Gyan,” Dalic said. “That is why I really need to appreciate the effort my team today.
“We had to fight really hard to get these three points, and as a coach I am very happy to see that.
“We moved well and put up a really good defence to get these three very important points for us.”
The win kept Al Ain level with Al Jazira on 33 points at the top of the Arabian Gulf League table, but Dalic’s men have a game in hand. They play Ajman next and then meet Fujairah twice before playing host to Jazira on March 8.
The Al Ain coach hopes his team will claim nine points from their next three games and move to the top of the table before that appetising top-of-the-table clash.
“We need to make sure we do not drop points anywhere,” Dalic said.
“So for us, the match against Ajman is as important as the match against Jazira. We will not be looking too far ahead and focus only on the next match.”
Jazira hold first place by virtue of their 4-3 win over Al Ain at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on October 5.
Dalic said he does not expect Omar Abdulrahman and Gyan to be available for the two upcoming AGL matches, but the Croat hopes they will make the line-up for Al Ain’s opening Asian Champions League clash on February 24 against Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia.
“I hope Omar and Gyan will be ready for the Champions League match against Shabab,” Dalic said.
“With Omar, we are a better team. We need him, but we are not going to rush to bring him back. We will wait for him to be ready.
“With him and Gyan back, and with the support of our fans, I believe this team can do anything because, as the players showed tonight, they have a lot of quality and fight.”
Gabriel Calderon, the Wasl coach, also had words of praise for his players and said his team deserved to take a bit more from the match.
“I think my players did really well, so I congratulate them,” the Argentine said.
He may have been aware that Wasl have beaten Al Ain once in league matches since their most recent league title, in 2006/07.
“They controlled the game, especially in the second half, but made one mistake in the first half that allowed Al Ain to score.
“When a big team like Al Ain take the lead, it is always difficult to come back, but I am happy with our performance.”
Star performer – Mohammed Abdulrahman (Al Ain)
His better-known sibling Omar was missing through injury, but Abdulrahman made sure his absence was not felt with an impressive performance.
Underperformer – Miroslav Stoch (Al Ain)
Was not his usual blistering self on the night. His passing was a bit off-target, and the Slovak missed from a one-on-one situation in the final minute of the first half.
Key moment Abdulrahman's curling right-footer that settled the fate of the match.
Al Wasl rating – 6/10 Played well and created more than a few problems for Al Ain, but lost to the better team.
Al Ain rating – 7/10 Al Jazira beware – Al Ain look like the juggernaut that cruised to two successive titles not so long ago.
Our verdict If Al Ain can keep collecting full points during the absence of Omar Abdulrahman and Asamoah Gyan, then they should hold the league lead before the end of the month with a game in hand against Fujairah.
Crivellaro lifts Ajman in 1-1 draw with Al Dhafra
Ajman and Al Dhafra played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Rashid bin Saeed Stadium on Monday night.
The result put Ajman into double figures for the season as they moved onto 10 points but remained in the relegation zone at 13th place, while Al Dhafra have 16 points and stay ninth.
The visitors broke the deadlock after 25 minutes as an inswinging corner from Humam Tariq was punched away by Ajman goalkeeper Mutaz Abdulla, but only as far as Abdulla Abdulqader, who struck a low shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner of the net.
The hosts came close to the equaliser in the 67th minute as substitute Ahmed Malalla nearly made an instant impact seconds after coming on, firing just over the crossbar.
The equaliser came for Ajman five minutes later, as new signing Rafael Crivellaro applied a first-time touch to a Haddaf Abdulla cross.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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