Al Wahda 1 (Valdivia 78)
Al Ahli 3 (Ribeiro 28, 73, Lima 61)
The story of the match
ABU DHABI // The pre-match build-up to this clash had been dominated by Cosmin Olaroiu’s consternation that Al Wahda had declined Al Ahli’s request to delay the fixture by 24 hours following their Asian Champions League heroics last week.
But if Olaroiu had been concerned about tiredness from his squad following the drama of last Tuesday night when they beat Al Hilal 3-2 to book their spot in the Champions League final he need not have worried.
Ahli put in a professional display to make it four wins out of four in the Arabian Gulf League and move to within three points of leaders Al Ain, with two games in hand.
Everton Ribeiro was the man at the centre of Ahli’s success as the Brazilian scored twice and set-up Rodrigo Lima’s goal too.
There was a degree of fortune to his 28th-minute opener as his cross from the left beat everyone inside the area and bounced past goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani into the net.
Wahda went close to an equaliser early in the second half as Denilson saw his effort strike the post and rebound to safety.
That proved costly. Ribeiro dispossessed centre-back Hamdan Al Kamali to set up Lima to double Ahli’s lead on the hour, and Ribeiro found the net again 12 minutes later to end the game as a contest.
Jorge Valdivia scored a consolation goal for the home side on 78 minutes, although they almost scored a second in the closing minutes as Al Kamali’s free kick struck the post.
Man of the match
Everton Ribeiro, Al Ahli – The Brazilian was at his influential best with two goals and an assist to cap a fine night’s work.
What they said
Javier Aguirre, the Al Wahda coach: “It was a muddling game from our players. We had a good first half despite conceding a goal from the only chance they created, but we too had our opportunities. They scored again in the second half and took control of the match. We were also a bit unlucky as we hit the post twice in the second half.”
Cosmin Olaroiu, Al Ahli manager: “Very important game to win, particularly as we were concerned of our players as they were returning four days after a very tough Asian Champions League semi-final. They are still recovering from a hard game and their concentration levels were down. Yet we managed to play well and win this match. The players managed to keep their heads up. They showed real character.”
The National’s verdict
Al Ahli looked every inch championship contenders and showed good focus to maintain their winning ways when it would have been easy to be distracted by their Asian Champions League achievements.
apassela@thenational.ae
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