Dubai: Al Ain defeated Al Ahli by a solitary goal from Nasib Isaq in the 57th minute, following a misunderstanding between Mohammad Qasim, the Al Ahli defender, and his custodian Ali Saeed in the UAE First Division League.
With this win, Al Ain jumped to the 8th place, pulling themselves away from the relegation zone with 16 points. Al Ahli dropped to the 9th place with 15 points.
This was the eighth defeat for defending champions Al Ahli.
"We showed our best form so far although we were playing an away game. It's good to perform like this, following our last defeat in the Asian champions league. I hope we will continue with this excellent form in the President's Cup semifinals and in the rest of the league matches," said Fahd Ali, the Al Ain skipper, after the match.
Serious threat
The Al Ain coach, Italian Walter Zenga, kept his second professional Iraqi Hawar Mulla on the bench until the 80th minute. He started with Cameroonian Olivei who displayed fine form and led Al Ain's attacks. He was a serious threat for the Al Ahli goal for most of the match.
Al Ahli played with one professional, Alex Nicolas (Castro) of Argentina, who failed to satisfy the expectations of the team's supporters and the coach as well, forcing his substitution in the second half.
Al Ahli were the better side in the first 45 minutes when they lost several scoring chances through Faisal Khalil, Mohammad Surour and Castro. Olivei and Nasib Isaq also lost some sitters for Al Ain in the first half.
However, Al Ain were a different team in the second half. They took control of the midfield and launched several dangerous attacks on the Al Ahli goal.
The Al Ain defence, led by brothers Fahd and Abdullah Ali and also comprising Humaid Fakher and Mussalam, with a spirited Moattaz Abdullah under the bar, played a significant role in helping their team cling on the slender lead till the final whistle.
