Dubai: Coach Zlatko Dalic was pleased with the character and spirit on display from his team Al Ain as they continued their upward movement in the Arabian Gulf League. Playing without Asamoah Gyan, Omar Abdul Rahman and Jires Kembo-Ekoko, they forced a 1-1 draw against defending champions Al Ahli in their round eight clash late on Monday.
Defender Mohannad Salem put the visitors ahead in the sixth minute while Chilean Carlos Munoz equalised for Al Ahli in the 35th minute. The second half provided some insipid action with both teams seemingly content to split points.
Referee Yaqoob Qasim, however, had other ideas as he flashed a red card to goalscorer Munoz despite the Chilean being brought down inside the box and then packed off Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu to the stands for remonstrating. However, that decision did very little to alter the final scoreline, except booing of the match officials away at the end of the match.
Al Wahda will go into a one-month break for the AGL with 18 points following their 1-0 away win against Fujairah while Al Shabab scored two goals in as many minutes for a 3-2 win on the road against Emirates Club to climb into second place with 15 points. Al Ain and Al Ahli are just after the leaders with 13 points each.
“Getting a point off the defending champions without three of our best players is a good sign for me. Not only am I happy to see my players play well, but also see this team gain in confidence in the absence of the three stars,” Dalic told media later.
“We have been without these three stars for the past one month and I think we have given a good answer to all. Hopefully, we will get even better in the next one month following the long break in the league,” he added.
Dalic refrained from being drawn into commenting on the refereeing decisions. “I will never comment on the referee’s decisions. That is always my policy. What makes me very happy is that Al Ain has been a solid team for the past three months without our best players,” he insisted.
Olaroiu was far from happy with the refereeing that denied the Red Knights three points from the encounter. “It was a very entertaining match and we could have got the full points if we were not forced to play against Al Ain and the referee, who ensured the result stayed that way,” the Romanian fumed.
“This was not a coincidence. In the last game for Al Ain, it was the same referee who awarded them a penalty and they won. What more can we do? Perhaps I can be the referee and take the right decisions,” Olaroiu said.
“Despite all this, we still tried and the players did their best to win. I am trying to put them on the right path but these things take time. I congratulate my players for the spirit they showed. If everything had gone as per plans, then the result could have been different. This is a situation at the moment and we have to accept it. I will not give up,” Olariou vowed.
