Arabian Gulf League: Al Ahli get back on track with victory over Al Nasr

Al Ahli (red/black) showed the fire that manager Cosmin Olaroiu had said was lacking in recent matches with a 3-1 win over Al Nasr. Ashraf Al Amra / Al Ittihad

Al Ahli 3 Al Nasr 1

Man of the match Walid Abbas (Al Ahli)

DUBAI // Less than a week after suffering a first domestic defeat of the season, Al Ahli got their Arabian Gulf League title challenge back on track with a rejuvenating victory against Al Nasr.

Last Saturday’s loss to Al Ain, the league leaders, stung their bitter rivals, so much so that coach Cosmin Olaroiu questioned Ahli’s fight. So the Dubai club resolved to use Friday night’s derby with Nasr to prove Al Ain represented simply a temporary blip, in a match that pitted the division’s second-placed side against the team directly below them.

So Ahli took the spoils, emerging from the Rashid Stadium only four points off Al Ain and still with two games in hand.

Their latest triumph came from an increasingly likely source. Walid Abbas had a huge hand in Ahli’s first two goals, his early shot deflecting off Moussa Sow and just over the line, before the defender-cum-makeshift-striker then volleyed home Everton Ribeiro’s corner just after the hour.

Christened ‘Walid Messi Shaqiri Van Basten’ by Olaroiu after a goal against Al Jazira last month, the UAE centre-back continues to live up to billing.

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Ahli certainly needed Abbas’s second contribution, since Nasr had drawn level nine minutes before half time thanks to Nilmar’s deft finish. The visitors then had a goal disallowed not long before Abbas struck, when Jonathan Pitroipa was flagged for offside. It appeared the wrong decision.

But Ahli made use of the good fortune, first through Abbas and then when Rodrigo Lima expertly clipped the ball over Ahmed Shambiah in the Nasr goal to seal the points. The Brazilian, captain again, has now struck 18 times in 19 appearances. He will be integral to Ahli’s hopes of wresting the title back from the Garden City.

Man of the match

Walid Abbas, Al Ahli The defender is developing a knack of popping up with vital goals, and this was no different. Strong at the back and a threat up front: the perfect combination.

What managers said

Cosmin Olaroiu, Al Ahli manager: "What I can say? From the beginning of the season this is our luckiest win. We didn't play how we wanted, from what we talked about and what we did was a big difference. But we scored in the right moments. It's very important win, a very, very important win. Sometimes when you win when you don't play so good it's a more important three points."

Ivan Jovanovic, Al Nasr coach: "Always when a game is finished we can say the result is a fair result, but after way this game went, it's very hard for us. I believe we had a good game and Al Ahli took advantage of two set-pieces. Especially, when we conceded the second goal, it was in a moment when we had forced ourselves into the game. Of course, we are disappointed and we need to improve a lot in the upcoming games."

The National’s verdict

Ahli responded well to the Al Ain defeat, although their performance was certainly secondary to the result. They were lucky with two key decisions: that Sow’s goal should have stood was debatable, while Pitroipa seemed to be onside when he struck. However, they did just enough to bounce back with victory against a talented Nasr side.

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