Abu Dhabi: Defending Champions Al Ahli got their campaign back on track by registering a resounding 5-1 win over Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League at the Zabeel Stadium on Friday.
Skipper Grafite gave enough evidence of having fully recovered from his injury by scoring a double, while Luis Jimenez scored a hat-trick for the winners. The margin for Al Wasl was reduced by Ederson.
Lot of doubts were raised after Al Ahli lost their home match against Al Shabab 4-2 in dramatic fashion after taking a 2-0 lead. However, against Al Wasl they were at the task at hand right from the word go.
“I’m very happy not for winning the game, but for the reaction after the last match (Al Shabab). We showed character and played a very good game, especially in the first half. But, as I told the players just now in the locker room, we don’t have to make a funeral after a loss or a party after a win,” said coach Cosmin Olaroiu after the match.
Al Wasl’s new coach Jorginho was dejected with the team’s effort. “It is just the beginning. We can all expect to improve. We’ll keep working and in time, the results will come,” said Jorginho, who felt the red card for Ahmad Al Shamsi for a high tackle on Jimenez, that left them with 10-men for almost an hour, hurt their chances.
“Against teams like Al Ain or Al Ahli, it’s already tough when you have 11 players against 11. But 10 against a team with Ahli’s quality just destroys you. It is almost impossible,” added Jorginho.
Al Wahda kept their 100 per cent win record intact by rallying from a goal down to beat Bani Yas 2-1 at Baniyas Stadium. The latter took an early lead in the 12th minute through Yousuf Jaber and held on to it till the break. Just minutes after the change of ends, Al Wahda drew level through Amer Omar. The winning goal for Wahda came in the 58th minute through Adil Hermach.
Jose Peseiro’s side is currently sitting at top of the table with nine points, while Bani Yas have two points from their three matches.
“It was a good win for us against a very strong team. Bani Yas played a much better game than what we saw from their previous two matches. Obviously, we are very happy to win the three points after conceding an early goal,” said a pleased looking Peseiro, who will be losing the services of defender Eisa Ahmad soon. Ahmad is all set to join champions Al Ahli.
“No manager wants to lose his best players. Eisa Ahmad was one of the best players in that position. He is versatile and can play anywhere in defence. I am not happy to lose him, but if he is going for a better future I don’t want to stand in his way,” revealed Peseiro.
Bani Yas boss Luis Garcia said: “When I joined the club, I was told we had a strong team, but I don’t see them anywhere close to some of the top clubs in the country at the moment. We are short of a striker to help Carlos Munoz, who seems to get isolated in attack. I have already requested the management that we need a second striker and they have already agreed to look for one.”
