Al Ain: Star midfielder Omar Abdul Rahman’s role was always going to be crucial for Al Ain in their must-win Asian Champions League match against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf on Tuesday — and he didn’t disappoint.
Colombian winger Danilo Asprilla struck six minutes before the end of the first half and Esmail Ahmad added a second on the stroke of full time for a 2-0 win.
However, Abdul Rahman was very much in the mix for both goals and that allowed Al Ain to advance to the Round of 16 as runners-up in Group D behind Al Jaish.
They would have come top but for an inferior head-to-head record against the Qataris.
Abdul Rahman slid in a pin-point pass for Asprilla, who outsprinted the Nasaf defence before firing a right-foot shot into the far corner.
Ahmad’s clinical header in the 90th minute that sealed the win for Al Ain also came through a measured corner from Abdul Rahman.
“Our goal was to win and we were not waiting for any other result. If we [had lost], Al Ahli Saudi would have gone through. When we entered the match, our aim was to have a goal as early as possible. [We] didn’t get an early breakthrough but, Alhamdullilah, we got the goals later because of our efforts,” a delighted Abdul Rahman said after the match.
He was also of the view that the win would do a world of good for his team’s confidence in the latter part of the tournament.
Al Ain will now play Iranian side Zob Ahan in the Round of 16, with the first leg at home on May 18 and the return a week later on May 25.
“Ya, it’s a new start for Al Ain and we should take positives and move on and concentrate on the upcoming matches,” Abdul Rahman said.
“After this, we have the match for the President’s Cup. We promise our supporters that we will give our best as their support means a lot to us,” he added. “Even if we are tired or injured, we will put in double efforts for them.”
Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic hailed his team’s effort saying: “I want to congratulate the players for this victory and for qualifying [for] the next round. The players showed great determination to get the three points and they followed the plan we put in place before the match.”
The coach added: “We had an offensive approach in the first half and controlled proceedings. We were the better side as we took the lead and created several scoring chances and although we missed a lot of opportunities, we eventually scored the second goal in the last minute.”
Nasaf coach Ruziqul Berdiev was of the view that his side performed way below par and Al Ain always had the upper hand.
“Al Ain are one of the best sides in the continent and they deserved to win. We didn’t perform well in the first half as we played with a defensive plan and this affected us,” Berdiev said.
