AL AIN // Omar Abdulrahman, the Al Ain playmaker, says his side must forget about Sunday's victory against Al Jazira and concentrate on gaining enough points to lift the Arabian Gulf League title.
The Garden City club defeated their closest rivals 2-1 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium thanks to first-half goals from Abdulrahman and Asamoah Gyan. Manuel Lanzini halved the deficit for the visitors right on half time, but other than a poor miss from Mirko Vucinic at the beginning of the second period, Jazira never really threatened.
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With the win, Al Ain extended their lead at the top of the standings to six points, a significant advantage with eight rounds remaining. Zlatko Dalic’s side have lost only twice in the league all season, scoring the joint-highest amount of goals (47), while they conceding the fewest (15).
Sunday’s vanquishing of second-placed Jazira has therefore prompted many to predict Al Ain will be crowned UAE champions for a third time in four seasons, although Abdulrahman has warned his teammates they must focus on the task ahead. That begins this Friday, with an away trip to Al Dhafra.
“We went into the Jazira match looking for three points, regardless of who’s topping the table,” Abdulrahman said. “To win the title you have to take it step by step. We’ve passed one more step now, but we don’t want to look back, we are looking only forward to our opponents in the coming weeks. Al Dhafra are strong at home in front of their fans.
“Thankfully, we managed to get all three points from our nearest rivals. This should give us momentum in the coming games. We are looking to do even better.”
Abdulrahman was the standout player against Jazira, having returned to the starting line-up for the first time since a recent hamstring injury. It was the first 90 minutes the midfielder has played in the league since September 30.
Abdulrahman’s rehabilitation comes at just the right time for Al Ain, especially with Gyan also finding his fitness. The Ghanaian missed a section of the season because of injury and international commitments, but he has now scored four goals in his past three matches in all competitions. It takes his tally for the 2014/15 campaign to 12.
"I'm getting better and better after each game," Gyan said. "I felt better against Naft Tehran" in last week's Asian Champions League tie "and I told my colleagues that. My running distance is improving and I'm getting my fitness back.
“The win against Jazira was very, very important – it was our most important game of the season. We needed to extend our lead to six points. With the three points, we’re getting there. Everybody’s happy.”
Asked about his strike against Jazira, when Gyan carried the ball from inside his own half and then expertly curled it into the Jaziragoal, he added: “As a striker sometimes you need to take responsibilities and you need to take risks. It was a great finish. At the end of the day, that’s what I need to do. I did my job and I’m happy.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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