ABU DHABI // Al Ain’s intentions were clear: they wanted to put on a show against Al Wahda.
Despite having already claiming the Arabian Gulf League title and having secured their place in the last 16 of the Asian Champions League last week, the Garden City club still elected to field a strong team, with Asamoah Gyan the only star name omitted from the starting XI.
However, try as they might, the match ended scoreless last night at Al Nahyan stadium, a result Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic said was a fair result.
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“It was a strong 90 minutes. We played the first half better to control the game and had some chances to score, and even when Wahda played more offensively in the second half we defended well,” he said.
“OK, we missed a few chances, but a scoreless draw was a fair result. It is true that we had already achieved our objectives ahead of this match but we always want to play the best available team. This is my style.”
Al Ain came closest to scoring in the first half when Fares Juma’s header off an Omar Abdulrahman free kick crashed against the crossbar.
Lee Myung-joo’s bicycle kick on the ensuing rebound was blocked by Adel Al Hosani, the Wahda goalkeeper, and Jires Kembo-Ekoko was wide with his effort on the loose ball.
Wahda went on the offensive in the second half as they looked to close the gap on second-placed Al Jazira, and Miraslov Stoch’s powerfully struck shot was blocked by Khaled Essa in the Al Ain goal.
“It isn’t easy to motivate a team that has won the league and reached the round of 16 in the ACL,” Dalic said. “I told my players that we are the champions and want to play like the champions in the remaining three games. We still have the President’s Cup to play for and these games can be useful for our preparations.”
Sami Al Jaber, the Wahda coach, said his players will target maximum points from their remaining two Arabian Gulf League fixtures and try to finish as high up the league as possible.
“Our main target is to keep the fighting spirit going and to keep up the good performance going into the President’s Cup, which is something we are looking forward to,” he said. “Drawing a match and dropping points is like losing money from my pocket for me. However, it would have hurt more had we lost these points against a team placed fifth or sixth in the league. A draw against Al Ain cannot be called a bad result.”
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