Abu Dhabi: Al Ain’s ace striker Asamoah Gyan has come out in support of coach Zlatko Dalic after the Boss suffered a shock exit from the AFC Champions League at the hands of local rivals Al Ahli late on Wednesday.
Croatian Dalic, who led Al Ain to the Arabian Gulf League title this season, is suddenly under pressure after his side conceded three goals in less than eight minutes to crash out of the tournament at the last-16 stage on away goals following a 3-3 draw at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
However, Gyan, who scored the opening goal in the fourth minute on Wednesday, felt it would be unfair to blame Dalic. “I think he should stay and why not?” asked Gyan, who felt that the coach had done an ‘incredible job’ with the team.
“This game was the first one we lost in the Champions League and we have done well all through. We are a team that has conceded less goals in the league and defensively we were better.
“Although we conceded three goals today, defensively we were better all through this season. In the last 16 games, no team scored above two goals against us. If Dalic leaves, then it is football, but I don’t think he should leave as he deserves a bit of respect,” added the Ghanaian star, who despite scoring a brace on the night couldn’t see his side through to the next round.
Gyan said it was a match Al Ain would have won easily had they not got rattled after Al Ahli scored the equaliser.
“I’m very upset with this result and I’ve not been so upset in years,” the former Sunderland striker said.
“Everybody’s head was down after they equalised and I don’t know why we should go down like that after 1-1. If they equalise, we should keep on playing and I think we didn’t do that. They capitalised on our mistake and scored. We cannot be taking silly goals.
“But kudos to Al Ahli, they qualified from a hard group and in a hard way. They continued their performance with their strong mentality and won. This game was a mind game and a team with a strong mentality carried the day today.”
Al Ahli’s Habib Al Fardan thought the introduction of Luis Jimenez in the second half changed the course of the game and provided his team with the impetus they were lacking.
“Actually we didn’t expect such a turnaround. In the beginning, we wanted to finish the half at nil-nil, but unfortunately they scored. However, once Luis came in, everything changed. Thankfully, even though we lost the league now we can show what we are capable of,” Al Fardan said.
“I think we are now high on morale and we will be getting a couple of days’ rest also. I don’t think there should be any reason why we shouldn’t end up winning the President’s Cup [Al Ahli face Al Dhafra in the semi-finals on Saturday].”
