Al Ain hold nerve against El Jaish to reach Asian Champions League final

John McAuley reports from Doha where Al Ain survived a late fightback to reach their third Asian Champions League final.

A 2-2 draw on the night was enough to send Al Ain through to their third Asian Champions League final. Courtesy Al AIn

El Jaish 2 Al Ain 2 (Al Ain win 5-3 on aggregate)

El Jaish: Romarinho (67', 81')

Al Ain: O. Abdulrahman (57'), M. Abdulrahman (90'+5)

Man of the match: Omar Abdulrahman

DOHA // Finally, Al Ain are there, 11 years since the last, one month and two matches from an opportunity to clinch a second Asian Champions League crown.

The UAE’s sole continental champions, twice finalists before, now have the chance to add to their 2003 success and to their lore, having dispatched Qatar’s El Jaish 5-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium sealed a spot in the showpiece, Al Ain just about sticking to their task to seal a Doha delight. Ultimately tense and taxing, they did it by the narrowest of margins, but will not care at all. It helps, too, when they possess one of the finest players in Asia.

Omar Abdulrahman, the undoubted star of the first leg, added another momentous moment to his already bloated CV, striking just before the hour to push Al Ain towards a third final, to within two games of the cup they covet most. He always seems to.

Abdulrahman has graduated to become his club’s captain and, after exchanging neat passes with Caio, coolly delivered a leading blow. The UAE playmaker wheeled away in celebration, soon swamped by grateful teammates in front of Al Ain’s few-but-fervent travelling supporters.

El Jaish suddenly required three in response, simply to force the match into extra-time. They promptly began the climb back, when Romarinho’s deflected effort 11 minutes later nestled in the back of the Al Ain goal. Attempting the block, Ismail Ahmed had provided the telling touch.

The Brazilian then doubled his tally in the 81st minute, drilling low into the bottom corner to double El Jaish’s goal count and offer fresh hope. Al Ain’s evening threatened to sour completely.

Defending stoutly, desperately at times, they did have chances on the counter, but Abulrahman made a rare mistake when bearing down on goal and his brother, Mohammed Abdulrahman, forced a fine stop from El Jaish goalkeeper Khalifa Ababacar. In injury-time, Caio thumped an attempt wide when all expected the home side’s net to bristle.​

Where had this come from? Despite the magnitude of the match, despite the pressure and past history, Al Ain were favourites to progress. They had passed the first test well, prevailing 3-1 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium three weeks previously, when Abdulrahman excelled and Sabri Lamouchi, the El Jaish manager, labelled him “absolutely the best player in Asia”.

His opposite number would surely agree. Given the first-leg lead, Zlatko Dalic signalled his intentions in his team selection, dropping striker Douglas and opting for an extra body to thicken midfield, with Lee Myung-joo, Amer Abdulrahman and Ahmed Barman protecting the back four.

Al Ain almost took the lead three times in three first-half minutes. Twice, Danilo Asprilla was played through, once each by separate Abdulrahmans, but twice Khalifa Ababacar was equal to the Colombian’s effort. Sandwiched in between, Ababacar thwarted Amer Abdulrahman’s attempted chip after he had failed to deal with an Al Ain corner.

To be fair, El Jaish began the brighter, with Khalid Essa denying Romarinho twice in quick succession in the 17th minute. From there, though, Al Ain settled into their groove, Omar Abdulrahman dictating play, Asprilla always a threat when he had space to exploit behind the El Jaish defence.

Thankfully, the winger will be afforded another opportunity, for his team hung in there and hung on, rubber-stamping their place in next month’s final when Mohammed Abdulrahman tapped home a rebound right at the death.

Al Ain are there, and almost there, with either South Korea's Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors or FC Seoul to come. Two matches from emulating that class of 2003. Two matches from realising that long-held dream.

Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE

Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport