Yokohama v Al Ain: UAE side's formidable home record means ACL final is far from over

Hernan Crespo's team confident of turnaround having lost first leg 2-1 at the Yokohama International Stadium

Al Ain keeper Khalid Essa shakes hands with the Yokohama F Marinos players at full time in the Japanese side's 2-1 victory in the AFC Champions League final first leg at the Yokohama International Stadium, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo and Yokohama coach Harry Kewell shake hands at full time. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Yokohama manager Harry Kewell. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Soufiane Rahimi of Al Ain battles with Shinnosuke Hatanaka of Yokohama. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mohammed Abbas of Al Ain celebrates his goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Khalid Al Hashemi, centre, and his Al Ain teammates shake hands with the Yokohama players at full time. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Kota Watanabe of Yokohama celebrates after scoring their winner. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Kota Watanabe of Yokohama, second left, celebrates after scoring their second goal. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Kota Watanabe of Yokohama celebrates. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Mohammed Abbas of Al Ain celebrates with teammate Soufiane Rahimi after scoring their opening goal against Yokohama F Marinos. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Asahi Uenaka of Yokohama F Marinos heads to score their opening goal. Getty Images

Asahi Uenaka, right, of Yokohama F Marinos celebrates with teammate Nam Tae-hee after scoring their first goal. Getty Images

Al Ain's Mohammed Abbas scores Al Ain's first goal. Reuters

Kaku of Al Ain battles with Nam Tae-hee of Yokohama. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Soufiane Rahimi of Al Ain battles with Eduardo of Yokohama. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo during the game. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Al Ain fans before the first leg against Yokohama F Marinos. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Matias Palacios of Al Ain scores the team's second goal, only to see his strike later disallowed after a VAR review. Getty Images

Matias Palacios of Al Ain celebrates after scoring the team's second goal, which was chalked off by VAR. Getty Images

Ain's Emirati goalkeeper Khalid Eisa punches the ball clear. AFP

Yokohama F Marinos' Taiki Watanabe and Al Ain's Soufiane Rahimi battle. AP

Al Ain's Emirati goalkeeper Khalid Essa makes a save. AFP

Al Ain's Emirati midfielder Mohammed Abbas attempts an overhead kick. AFP

The teams come on to the pitch before kick-off. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Hernan Crespo declared his trust in a turnaround, that the narrow defeat that had just terminated near Tokyo had not shaken his conviction.

Not long after, defender Khalid Al Hashemi rued how the opening leg of Al Ain’s first Asian Champions League final in an age had been decided by “the little details”. Yet he quickly reminded how the tie was still very much in the balance.

Kaku echoed his teammate’s sentiment; Park Yong-woo too. The disappointment was writ large – Al Hashemi spoke of the players being “devastated” – but there remains another chapter to be penned in this sudden rivalry with Yokohama F Marinos; another opportunity for Al Ain to grasp a second continental crown 21 years after the first.

On Saturday, at a thronged Yokohama International Stadium that bounced and beckoned on the hosts for the most part, Al Ain had not been at their best.

Granted, they were 1-0 up against Yokohama F Marinos as early as the 12th minute, Soufiane Rahimi devastating once more on the break, Mohammed Abbas supplying the finish from the rebound.

And they did have other moments, as well. Right on the half hour, Matias Palacios celebrated what he and Al Ain thought was a second goal of the night. Having raced off and revelled in front of their pocket of fans tucked away in the corner, VAR soon dampened Al Ain’s delight. Palacios had gone a fraction early to receive the ball that set him free. The call was tight; those pesky VAR lines had to be applied.

Yet Yokohama created chances of their own. Their finishing was wayward at times, at others Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Essa was inspired.

But, faced with the unfamiliarity of a first Champions League final and the pressure that brings, Yokohama fought back. Eventually, Harry Kewell’s side got their reward when Asahi Uenaka equalised, and Kouta Watanabe snatched it late on.

Speaking to the gathered media as his players stayed out on the pitch and took in their supporters’ applause, Kewell urged caution within his group.

"I'm not going to sit here and say the game is finished," the former Liverpool forward said. "I'm not silly enough to do that … they can enjoy the moment, but there's still a long way to go in this tie."

That’s not to say Kewell wasn’t confident on delivering Yokohama, like Al Ain a surprise finalist, the trophy. He predicted they will score in the Garden City, that his side would relish the challenge.

In all likelihood, that is what it will be. Al Ain have been almost exemplary at home this season in Asia’s foremost club competition, winning all but one of their six matches there.

In the quarter-finals, they repelled Cristiano Ronaldo and his star-studded Al Nassr, triumphing 1-0; in the semi-final, against a glittering Al Hilal on a world-record run of 34 wins, Al Ain raced to a 3-0 lead within 38 minutes and ultimately prevailed 4-2.

“I’m very confident,” Crespo said plainly in the aftermath on Saturday. “Because we play at home, and I know what it means to play at home with our fans. Today was not so easy because the [Marinos] fans shout and support their team, and in two weeks it will be the opposite.

“We need to take advantage of that. We believe we can do it.”

Undoubtedly, Al Ain will enjoy a similarly fierce backing on May 25 as Yokohama did on Saturday. For sure, they will have to harness it like their Japanese opponents, like they did in the previous rounds when up against two of the most talent-packed teams in Asia.

In saying that, Al Ain must handle the tension that comes with it. The Champions League represents the title the club covet most, that famed 2003 success growing more sepia-tinged by the year.

In 2016, their most recent final appearance, Al Ain lost 2-1 away to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the initial leg – they struck first in that encounter also – but failed to get over the line. They drew at home to lose 3-2 overall.

They will be determined that history does not repeat. As Kaku urged before the team set off for the long journey back to the UAE and with the opening result still to sink in, Al Ain must stay strong, stay together.

“Believe … only believe,” he said. “And the good result will come.”