DUBAI // Al Ahli sported a new guise at the Rashid Stadium on Friday night, but in truth, this was the same fare they had served throughout much of the Arabian Gulf League season.
The 2014/15 campaign has hardly been vintage.
The UAE champions took to the pitch against Al Wahda wearing their new third kit, which recently went on general sale, yet it did little to invigorate what has been a hugely forgettable title defence.
All in black, the tone was set for a sombre and sapping evening’s football.
This was Ahli’s final home fixture of the campaign and it appeared a mere inconvenience, something that they simply sought to tick off their schedule since more important assignments lie in wait. The 1-1 draw made it just five victories from 13 matches in front of their own support.
It also helped explain why last year’s standout team have stood still this term.
Having long since surrendered their top-flight crown, Ahli entered the match sixth in the table. No wonder, then, that minds appeared focused on what is to come: on Tuesday, they can seal a place in the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League with victory against Iran’s Tractor Sazi. Later this month, the President’s Cup offers yet another chance to salvage something from the wreckage.
So, rather unfortunately, a domestic league that is grinding to its finish provided next to no motivation for Ahli, even though it presented them the opportunity to build momentum heading into next week’s continental clash.
Against Wahda, just like when facing the majority of opponents this year, Ahli struggled for the breakthrough. Abdelaziz Haikal, Habib Fardan and Oussama Assaidi had all gone close – Fardan striking the crossbar in the second half – but the hosts never seemed likely to find a fix for their troubles in front of goal. Of the league’s top 10 teams, no one has scored fewer.
Ahli thought they had won it in the 85th minute, though, when Kwon Kyung-won’s header from a corner was adjudged to have crossed the goal line. It was a controversial decision.
But Wahda responded in injury time, with Ismail Matar, on as a substitute, thundering a long-range effort past Majed Naser in the Ahli goal. His colleagues had no time to bounce back. Perhaps the onus was always on the visitors, anyway. Sitting fourth, Wahda retained hopes of a top-three finish and, with it, a place in next year’s Champions League. But that is now gone, thanks to the result here and Al Shabab’s triumph at Al Jazira.
Subsequently, these two clubs will look forward to concluding their league campaigns on May 10. New kits or not, they could both do with freshening up.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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