Al Ain 2 Al Ahli 3
Al Ain: Gyan 78' (pen), Ahmed 90+3' Al Ahli: Grafite 36' (pen), 48', Khalil 90+1'
Man of the match: Grafite (Al Ahli)
AL AIN // In a season dominated by headlines of Al Ahli’s rise to prominence and Al Ain’s rapid decline, it was arguably the architect of both who took centre stage last night at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
It was always going to be that way.
Cosmin Olaroiu, the man who last summer swapped the Garden City for the bright lights of Dubai, has spent the time since distracted by touchline bans and court cases, but as fate would have it he was back in the dugout for the long-awaited return to his former club.
He would have been glad Al Ain now play their football at this gleaming new stadium, then, for instead of a place within earshot of the hosts’ fervent fans, he was positioned just in front of the section that housed the Ahli players’ wives and girlfriends.
After yet another model result, these are glamorous times for Olaroiu and Co. On the surface, the 3-2 victory, achieved via a frantic final 15 minutes, may have simply restored Ahli’s six-point lead at the top of the Arabian Gulf League table, but this was much more than that.
Al Ain, although far from the form that saw them steamroll to the past two UAE league titles, represented a serious obstacle to Ahli’s championship hopes. The Dubai club emerged with fresh impetus and a bucket load of confidence.
So six points ahead of second-placed Al Shabab with six rounds remaining. Time to ready the celebrations, right?
“There are still six games left, it does not mean anything,” countered Catalin Raducan, Ahli’s assistant coach. “We have done nothing up until this point, and have six difficult games remaining.
“But I must congratulate my team. To play four games in 11 days is very, very difficult, but again they showed character and fight. We controlled the game and deserved to win against a very strong team. It’s an important step in front.”
Despite Raducan’s caution, Ahli appear poised for a first top-flight title in five years. They will wish for more straightforward evenings, despite initially cruising to a 2-0 advantage through Grafite’s first-half penalty and his second, a tap-in, shortly after half time.
However, Al Ain were provided a way back into the game when the referee inexplicably awarded the home side a penalty 12 minutes from time, which Asamoah Gyan duly converted.
As Olaroiu sarcastically applauded, his sent on Ahmed Khalil, who broke away in injury time to apparently seal the visitors the points. Perhaps not, it seemed, when Ismail Ahmed reduced the deficit moments later.
So a frenzied few minutes ensued, much to Olaroiu’s ire; once the final whistle sounded, the Romanian remonstrated vigorously with the officials. Thankfully, Raducan was on hand to calm down his compatriot.
“I never talk about referees, I don’t like to talk about this, but today he had a bad day,” Raducan said.
“At the end if the day, the referee is only human and makes mistakes, so we need to understand that.”
Olaroiu will soon shift his focus, though, for when he reflects on the night’s work he will find his Ahli side on the cusp of a sixth UAE championship. It would make it three in a row, too, for the man with the Midas touch.
How times have changed, eh? Typically in recent years, it has been Al Ain who have enjoyed such superiority, but that the newly appointed Zlatko Dalic is the club’s third coach since Olaroiu’s departure says it all.
A glance at the league table, with Al Ain stranded in eighth place, reaffirms just how woeful 2013/14 has been. For now, the soon-to-be disposed champions cast an envious eye to their boundless arch rivals, perched proudly at the summit.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Baniyas 2 Emirates 1
Baniyas quelled the challenge of Emirates to end a three-game losing streak last night, securing a 2-1 victory despite missing three of their four foreign players.
Saleem Saeed opened the scores 13 minutes in. Having initiated the move, the forward was on hand to score a header after goalkeeper Abdullah Moosa had tried to parry Jasim Jawahr’s shot.
Fifteen minutes later, though, Argentine striker German Herrera equalised from the spot after Wanderley Sousa was brought down in the penalty area.
Nine minutes after the break, Baniyas pushed early for the second goal by replacing Saleh Hamad for the forward Ahmed Malalla, but it was midfielder Nawaf Mubarak who struck with a sublime left-foot free kick that rose over the wall and flummoxed Moosa.
Emirates came close to finding a second leveller on 54 minutes but Luis Henrique’s effort was correctly ruled out for offside.
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