Al Wasl 2 Salmeen 49' Caio
Al Ain 4 Douglas 41', 69', O Abdulrahman (pen) 94', 97'
Man of the match: Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain)
ABU DHABI // Extra time was required, but Al Ain seized back a little of their season on Thursday night, edging past Al Wasl to move within two matches of President's Cup success.
Two doubles did it, one from Douglas and the other from Omar Abdulrahman, a hard-fought victory to keep alive hopes of trading their failed Arabian Gulf League defence for UAE football's most coveted crown.
Even with Gabriel Calderon absent and seemingly set for the sack, Wasl played their part, twice coming from behind at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium to force the additional 30 minutes. But Abdulrahman settled it with from a couple of dead balls: one a penalty and one directly from a corner, Al Ain's golden boy displaying his Midas touch.
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Thanks to him, the Garden City club’s search for silverware sustains.
“For us, the most important thing was to win the game tonight and we achieved our target,” said Zlatko Dalic, the Al Ain manager. “Maybe we didn’t play well in possession as how I wanted, especially in the first half, but I understand my players: it is one game, 90 minutes, there can always be a surprise, we need to pass this stage and go to semi-finals. My players were a little bit nervous.
“But thankfully we won the game and we achieved our target. Congratulations to my players tonight for the game and for the win.”
Wasl felt aggrieved they were not given the opportunity to win it themselves, and rightly so, when moments after Caio drew his side level for a second time they were denied a stonewall penalty. Replays showed Al Ain substitute Saeed Musabeh had handled on the line; it was the final minute of normal time.
Wasl protested wildly, their anger only deepening once Al Ain were awarded a contentious spot kick at the beginning of the extra period. Attempting to stop Danilo Asprilla, defender Hassan Zahran fell on the ball and it bounced up onto his arm. It was harsh; even worse, it appeared to be just outside the Wasl area.
“The two penalties were the turning points,” said Salem Abdelrahman, Wasl’s caretaker coach. “We should have been given a penalty, and they should not.”
Al Ain had earlier looked like they would not need any help, twice taking the lead, both times through Douglas, two poacher’s goals to set his team on their way to snaring a semi-final spot. Each was cancelled out, though, one through Ali Salmeen’s heavily deflected shot and the other when Caio fired home at the second attempt three minutes from time.
Yet Abdulrahman stepped up in extra time, a captain’s contribution to lead his team into the last four. Initially, he displayed remarkable poise to slot home his penalty, then a little cunning to beat substitute goalkeeper Rashid Ali from a corner kick – even if the Wasl stopper should not have let the ball squirm through his legs.
Al Ain had squeezed through themselves. Not long after relinquishing their top-flight title to Al Ahli, they could conclude the season as President’s Cup champions.
Jazira are one of the clubs standing in their way, since they defeated Sharjah on penalties at Al Ain’s Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium. The capital side had gone 4-2 down in extra time, but Sultan Barghash and Thiago Neves, who scored a hat-trick, struck to send the match to spot-kicks and Jazira eventually into the semis.
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