Abu Dhabi: Zlatko Dalic and his wards at Al Ain are just one step away from entering the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. The 2-0 win in the first leg over Saudi giants Al Ittihad was a huge shot in the arm for the 2003 champions ahead of the return leg in Jeddah on August 26.

Apart from the two-goal edge, the biggest plus for Al Ain is that the away match would virtually be like a home game since Al Ittihad fans face a stadium ban.

In the first leg, Esmail Ahmad put Al Ain into cruise mode with a neatly placed goal after the change of ends and Ghanaian ace Asamoah Gyan then doubled the lead in quick time.

Dalic has, however, warned his players against getting complacent or taking their foot off the pedal. “It will not be easy in Jeddah and I know that. It is a big, big team. So we need to forget about this result and start preparing for the next game,” said Dalic, who had two-year stint with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal before shifting his base to UAE.

“We have a 2-0 result with us and I congratulate my players for an excellent game, but we have not achieved anything yet. We have to make sure we play a good game in Jeddah as well. We should forget the good result that we achieved today and start preparing for the next game.”

There was plenty of depth in the Al Ain strike force with the return of Frenchman Kembo Ekoko and inclusion of Slovakian international Miroslav Stoch. The duo used the flanks well and allowed Omar Abdul Rahman and Gyan to show their magic upfront.

Abdul Rahman had been seen in a dual role, playing up and down, in the previous matches but on Monday the UAE star had the luxury to play to his strengths. The second half simply belonged to him as he tormented the Al Ittihad defence at will with his deft passes. The lob from Abdul Rahman that led to Gyan’s goal was testament to his form.

Dalic was all praise for his ward: “It was an amazing, amazing pass for Gyan. I believe only two or three players in the world can make a pass with such perfection. So Omar is a player who can always make something special and he did that today.”

The coach went on to reveal that his team had changed tactics after the switchover. “At half time, I had to change our playing style and told my players to play fast and hold on to the ball because we are best when we have the ball. Our performance dropped in the last 20 minutes. However, this was expected as this was our first official match of the season.”

Despite the setback, Al Ittihad coach Khalid Al Koroni was confident of his team bouncing back in the return leg. “It is a disappointing defeat but we are still in the competition and we must score like Al Ain did tonight in order to advance. Our opponents scored from our own mistakes and they were better in the second period,” said Al Koroni.

“We have nothing to lose in the second leg as Al Ain are not better than us. Our opponents have good foreign players while our new players need time to adapt. However, I hope that in the second leg we can make a good comeback.”