Al Ain progressed to the group stage of the Asian Champions League (ACL) on Tuesday night, thanks to second-half goals from Marcus Berg and Caio, as the Arabian Gulf League side beat Malkiya of Bahrain 2-0 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Berg ended what was turning out to be a long wait for the home fans when, on 53 minutes, he scored Al Ain's first goal off a low cross from Egyptian midfielder Hussein El Shahat. Caio added the second goal eight minutes later when he headed in a Bandar Al Ahbabi cross.
Al Ain manager Zoran Mamic was predictably relieved after the match.
“The game against Malkiya was tough. It took our players a while to score, but once they did, we had control of the game,” Mamic said. “We are glad we qualified for the group stage of this competition.
"We have played at this level in the past and looking forward for another campaign at this level. The first two games [in the group stage] that starts in two weeks will be very crucial for us.”
Indeed, Al Ain join a tough Group D with their first game against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia on February 13 at Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium in Riyadh. They then face Qatar’s Al Rayyan a week later. The other team in the group are Esteghlal of Iran.
The UAE will be represented by three other teams in the competition: Al Jazira in Group A, Al Wahda in Group B and Al Wasl in Group C.
That Mamic's side could actually play on Tuesday night was down to the fact a certain football club in Dubai could not.
Al Ain had finished fourth in the Arabian Gulf League last season, and they only made the Champions League play-off round because of Shabab Al Ahli Dubai's failure to obtain the Asian Football Confederation licence. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, a club formed last summer, did not have the three-year requirement necessary to qualify for the ACL.
So naturally, Mamic was thrilled about this twist of fate.
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“At the beginning, the ACL wasn’t in our agenda," the Croat said. "So this was an opportunity to play in the continental championship. Now that we progressed to the group stage, we want to make it count."
The manager conceded his team now had the more difficult task of challenging for two titles, rather than one, before adding "we’ll take that as a positive".
“To play in the continental championship is the objective of every club and we’ll take it from here. It’s another great opportunity for us to play in the continental championship."
Malkiya manager Ahmed Al Dakheel, meanwhile, looked on the brighter side after their defeat.
Al Dakheel said it was a new experience for his side playing in the continental championship after they won their first domestic trophy last season.
“We knew we were up against a side that won this title once and were twice runner up,” he said. “I think we still played well and we created a few chances. We couldn’t score which is another matter. But for sure, it was a learning curve for us and we’ll take this experience forward.”
Al Ain had the best chance of breaking the deadlock in the first half. El Shahat rolled the ball towards an empty net but Soriola Gege, Malkiya’s Nigerian centre-back, came in a flash to clear it from the goal-line with a minute left for half time.
Malkiya had their chances, too. Isa Al Bari’s header off a long ball from Sayed Issa bounced in front of the goalmouth but was cleared by Al Ain keeper Khalid Eisa on 20 minutes.
Al Ain captain Omar Abdulrahman sent one wide of the far post from inside the area at the other end four minutes later.
The visitors came close again and this time Eisa did well to push out a chipped effort from close range by Sayed Hashim, and Al Ain’s Brazilian forward Caio’s effort from inside the box was smothered by Issa.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
UAE'S%20YOUNG%20GUNS
%3Cp%3E1%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20age%2026%2C%2079%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E2%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20age%2020%2C%2066%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E3%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20age%2021%2C%2065%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E4%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20age%2021%2C%2079%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E5%20Heena%20Hotchandani%2C%20age%2023%2C%2016%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E6%20Rinitha%20Rajith%2C%20age%2018%2C%2034%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E7%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20age%2017%2C%2053%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E8%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%2C%20age%2017%2C%2068%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E9%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20age%2017%2C%2033%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E10%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20age%2018%2C%2033%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E11%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20age%2018%2C%2046%20matches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
