DUBAI // Al Ahli's away record should give them the confidence to lift the Asian Champions League title against Guangzhou Evergrande, according to goalkeeper Ahmed Dida.
The Dubai club held their Chinese counterparts to a goalless draw in the first leg of the final at the Rashid Stadium on Saturday night, with the return fixture to come in Guangzhou on November 21.
Guangzhou, the 2013 Asian champions, were the better team on Saturday night as Ahli looked nervous for large spells. Contesting the knockout stages for the first time in their history, they struggled to create any real clear-cut chances.
Guangzhou, though, struck the crossbar through Huang Bowen, while Zheng Zhi and Yu Hanchao forced fine saves from Dida. Ahli were then reduced to 10 men six minutes from time when Abdulaziz Haikal was sent off for a slap on Gao Lin.
Although Cosmin Olaroiu’s side begin the second leg as underdogs, Dida insists they can take heart from impressive away performances thus far in the latter stages of the competition – including a quarter-final victory at Naft Tehran and a 1-1 semi-final draw at Al Hilal.
“Yeah, for sure. I don’t know why, but in the away games we do better,” Dida said. “That’s a positive thing, so we should use that and think positive about that.
“I think the chance is still on. Even though the second game is in China, it’s 50/50 still. We can still win. It doesn’t matter if we didn’t score - the biggest part was not to receive a goal and we succeeded in that.
“China is a different story, a different step, a different atmosphere. Even the pressure is going to be different.”
Guangzhou seem set to be without Ricardo Goulart for the second leg after the tournament’s top scorer was substituted with an ankle injury just before the hour mark.
Ahli’s treatment of the Brazilian irked his coach and compatriot, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who expects to be without one of his main players for the match at Guangzhou’s Tian He Stadium.
However, Dida says Guangzhou have the strength in depth to cope with Goulart’s absence.
“They have good players, it’s obvious,” he said. “I’m sure they’ve a player who could take his place, but still we don’t concentrate on one player. We play against Guangzhou, not just one player.”
Asked what Ahli need to do better to become only the second UAE club to clinch the continental crown, Dida replied: “Score. That’s the only thing we can do to win.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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