Al Wasl 2 Al Ahli 1
Wasl: Andre Senghor 67, Maher Jassim 88
Ahli: Ciel 39
DUBAI // Al Ahli manager Cosmin Olaroiu suffered a bruising double blow last night.
first, his team’s unbeaten start in the Arabian Gulf League was brought to an end by a battling Al Wasl. Worse, as he walked off the pitch, he learnt he had been suspended for six months over his summer switch from Al Ain.
The UAE Football Association’s arbitration panel benched the controversial Romanian, after he earlier had been fined Dh100,000 and handed a three-game ban, for “showing a lack of commitment” toward his contract with Al Ain and “violating” it, the FA said.
While Olaroiu, 44, is serving the sentence, assistant coach Catalin Raducan is expected to run the team. He managed the side against Al Jazira last week.
The coaching ban is believed the longest in league history for a coach.
Last night, Olaroiu also was fined another Dh100,000 for the delay in delivering his Ahli contract to the UAE FA for review.
Olaroiu spurned Al Ain’s offer for a contract extension after leading the team to consecutive league titles, and chose to sign a three-year deal with Ahli instead. Al Ain took the matter to the league’s arbitration panel, claiming they had a commitment from the coach.
Olaroiu claimed surprise at how his former employers have handled over the issue.
“I don’t understand why they are doing this,” Olaroiu said of his former club. “They know I did not want to continue with them. We had a meeting in Bucharest during the summer and I made it clear, I cannot continue.”
Olaroiu indicated that he was choosing his words carefully.
“So I am really surprised,” he said, “but if I say something, I might face another suspension.”
Olaroiu claimed he had not seen the 30-page judgement summary that was issued by the arbitration panel after the game last night and learnt of the suspension following the Wasl game.
“So first, I have to through the document and see what they are saying,” he said.
“Earlier, too, first they banned me three games and then the suspension was withdrawn. So let’s see what is going to happen.
“But I am not going to allow this issue to affect me. I am totally focused on working with my team.”
Olaroiu promised his team will bounce back stronger after suffering their first defeat of the league season, against lowly Wasl, who were drubbed 6-1 by Al Nasr in their last league match and struggled to down Ajman, a side missing eight of their regulars, in the President’s Cup round of 16.
“We thought nobody can beat us and we have paid the penalty for that,” Olaroiu said. “We did not play with the same spirit and attitude as the earlier games. We made mistakes at crucial times.
“The Wasl players did not give us space, they played with more speed and aggression and won.
“Of course, we are not happy about this, but it is important to learn our lessons and come back stronger for the next game against Al Shabab. It is not important how many times you fall. The important thing is how many times you stand up.”
Ahli and Shabab are the two teams at the top of the league table, with only point separating them. The win takes Wasl to sixth and manager Hector Cuper saluted the battling performance of his players in the game.
Down 1-0 following Ciel’s 39th minute opener, the hosts fought back in the second half with Andre Senghor getting the equaliser in the 67th minute.
Then Maher Jassim, who struck the extra-time winner for Wasl against Ajman in the President’s Cup, did the job once again with only two minutes remaining on the clock.
“I congratulate my players for their excellent performance,” Cuper said. “We played against the best team in the league, with quality across the pitch. All our players played a great game, especially Abdullah Khalifa, who went one-on-one against a player like Hugo Viana and managed to keep him in check.
“We fought really hard and this win should put us on the right track.”
Report card
• Al Wasl Drubbed 6-1 in their last league game, the hosts looked a lot more resolute last night and deserved the win. 8/10
• Al Ahli With their riches in attack, Ahli should be scoring a lot more goals – but at the moment, they are missing just too many. 6/10
• Man of the match
Maher Jassim – The Wasl winger, who struck the extra-time winner against Ajman in the President’s Cup, did it again last night with another opportunistic strike.
arizvi@thenational.ae
AL AIN 5 AL SHAAB 2
Al Ain took a sizeable leap over the crowded mid-table crowd to vault into third place from eighth with an easy win over Al Shaab.
Mohanad Salem, Michel Bastos and Alex Brosque added to Asamoah Gyan’s efforts at the start and end of the game for the champions. Michael N’Dri got in a brace for Shaab.
SHARJAH 1 BANIYAS 0
Sharjah climbed to third place in the Arabian Gulf League after a 1-0 victory at home over Baniyas. After the first 45 minutes finished in a stalemate, Ahmed Khamis scored the game’s only goal just past the hour mark. Baniyas, who started the game in sixth place, dropped down to eighth.
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