Al Ain send emotional message to AGL title rivals Ahli

Al Ain’s 3-0 win last night over their Dubai rivals pulls them four points clear at the top of the Arabian Gulf League table. Al Ittihad

Story of the match

AL AIN // The champions are back in business with 3-0 thrashing of title rivals Al Ahli to extend their lead to four points at the top of the Arabian Gulf league.

Felipe Bastos put Al Ain ahead and Mohammed Abdulrahman made it 2-0 at half time before Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike sealed the win mid-way through the second period at the Hazza bin Zayed stadium.

The result ended Ahli’s unbeaten run for the season.

Al Ain dominated with their Dubai rivals chasing possession for large parts of the game.

Al Ain’s fans celebrated and even manager Zlatko Dalic could not hide his emotions, punching his fist in the air several times to join the fans at the end of the match.

Al Ain took the lead when Bastos’s low shot from outside the box raced beyond the reach of Ahli goalkeeper Ahmed Dida towards the corner of the net.

Ahli nearly got the equaliser five minutes before half time. Ismail Al Hammadi connected with a corner from Everton Ribeiro and Majed Hassan met the ball with a close range header only to see it crash against the crossbar.

While Ahli were left ruing on the missed opportunity Al Ain seized on a the lack of concentration from their opponents to score at the other end.

Mohammed Abdulrahman chested down a long ball from his brother, Omar, to knock it past Dida and double the lead.

It could have been curtains for visitors five minutes into the second half had Mohammed Abdulrahman hit the target from a one-on-one against Dida, after Omar Abdulrahman had split the Ahli defence with an exquisite through pass.

But it was game over minutes later when Emenike picked up another through pass from Omar Abdulrahman to slot past Dida and take the game beyond Ahli’s reach.

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Man of the match

It is almost impossible to look beyond the contributions of Omar Abdulrahman in a majority of Al Ain’s victories.

The diminutive midfielder once again played his part, with a hand in the first goal and two assists.

What they said

Zlatko Dalic, Al Ain coach: "Congratulations to my players for a fantastic game. We did everything we planned ahead if the game right on the night.

“There was no big secret about the performance but we stuck together as a team and if we continue to do that, I can say, the level of play will go up and up.

“Omar Abdulrahman and Mohammed Abdulrahman were outstanding on the night. They created a lot of space for the others to put pressure on the Ahli defence.”

Cosmin Olaroiu, Ahli coach: "Al Ain deserved the win on the night. It is usually they play and we get the win but now we play and they win against us.

“It is a lesson we take because my players have started to take everything easy and we have lost the attitude and determination from the previous games.

“We had to pay a price for this tonight.”

The National’s verdict

Al Ain needed this victory as, although they are four points ahead in the table, Ahli have two games in hand.

The title race is getting interesting.

ELSEWHERE: Jazira provide some breathing room for Abel Braga with 5-1 win

Al Jazira relieved some of the pressure on manager Abel Braga with a 5-1 thrashing of Al Shaab in Abu Dhabi last night.

The Brazilian manager had come under fire after a poor run of form which has seen Jazira pick up just eight points from nine games before last night.

But bottom-placed Shaab were no match for Jazira who had only managed six goals in four home games before this match.

Khalfan Mubarak opened the scoring on 28 minutes and from there it was almost one-way traffic.

Ali Mabkhout scored his first on 39 minutes and Ahmed Alatas made it 3-0 on half time.

French striker Michael N’Dri pulled one back for Shaab just after the break, but two goals in eight minutes from Fares Juma and Mabkhout sealed the three points that move Jazira five clear of the relegation zone.

There were plenty of goals in Dubai, too, as Al Shabab stuck four past Fujairah to go fourth in the table.

All the goals came in the first 49 minutes, with Brazilian striker Jo setting Shabab on their way to a 4-1 win when he headed home in the 14th minute. Uzbek midfielder Azizbek Haydarov latched on to a cross fromHenrique Luvannor to make it two 10 minutes later.

Lebanese international Hassan Maatouk’s free kick on 32 minutes made it 2-1, but then 18-year-old winger Mohammed Juma stole the show when he scored twice – his first goals in the Arabian Gulf League – as Shabab won with ease.

-- AGENCIES

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