Cosmin Olaroiu made it clear where his priorities lie when he rested two key players at the weekend, ahead of Tuesday's Asian Champions League meeting with Al Rayyan in Qatar. The <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBBaW4=" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBBaW4=">Al Ain</a> coach left <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1Blb3BsZS9TcG9ydC9Gb290YmFsbC9PbWFyIEFiZHVscmFobWFu" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL1Blb3BsZS9TcG9ydC9Gb290YmFsbC9PbWFyIEFiZHVscmFobWFu">Omar Abdulrahman</a> and Alex Brosque on the bench in the 0-0 draw at <a href="gopher://topicL3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBBaGxp" inlink="topic::L3RoZW5hdGlvbmFsL09yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbnMvU3BvcnRzIHRlYW1zL1VBRSBmb290YmFsbCB0ZWFtcy9BbCBBaGxp">Al Ahli</a> – both came on in the second half – to keep them fresh for their second meeting with the Qatari side in a week. "The circumstances made us find the best solutions for the situation against Ahli," the Romanian said. A win on Tuesday night at the Ahmed bin Ali stadium in the city of Al Rayyan would be Al Ain's third in four games and give them a healthy chance of making the knockout round. There is also optimism in the Al Ain camp that Asamoah Gyan, the Ghana captain and the club's top scorer, will return from injury, though he will likely start on the bench. Olaroiu has had little time to work with his players since the match in Dubai against Ahli on Saturday. His team beat Rayyan 2-1 at home a week ago. "Our timetable is so tight in the last two weeks we barely had time to prepare," he said. "This meeting with Rayyan for the second time in a week will be harder than the first leg match, but we will do our best till the end. Al Ain are second in the group on six points, one behind Esteghlal of Iran, who host third-placed Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia also on Tuesday. Defeat for Rayyan will almost end their hopes of advancing beyond the group stage. Jaralla Al Marri and Alvaro Fernandez, the Uruguayan midfielder, will return from injury and suspension respectively. But Rayyan will be without Daniel Goumou through suspension and Abdulkarim Ali because of injury, while Cho Yong-hyung, the Korean defender, remains doubtful. Ali Salem Afifah, the head of football at Rayyan, acknowledged it was their last chance to keep their hopes of a knockout spot alive. "We are like other clubs under pressure, but we are used to facing such situations playing in ACL," he said. Diego Aguirre, the Rayyan coach, understands that the game represents their last chance to keep their hopes alive to advance from the group stage. "We have no choice only victory," the Uruguayan said. "We played good match against Al Ain, but we were unlucky. "I have confidence on my players and I think we can do better in front of our home fans." Follow us
