Dubai: Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu braced himself for stronger challenges ahead following a hard-fought 2-1 win over Al Wahda in the 10th round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) late on Saturday.
After a barren first half that saw both sides hit the upright, Esmail Al Hammadi opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when he deftly guided a chip from Ahmad Khalil into the far corner of the net to put Al Ahli in the clear.
Unperturbed, the visitors went in search of an equaliser with the introduction of the experienced Esmail Mattar, only to see their goal fall a second time seven minutes after the hour as Everton Ribeiro picked up skipper Khalil with a clever pass that saw the UAE national team striker power past Ali Al Hossani and make it 2-0.
However, Al Wahda fought till the bitter end and were rewarded deep into injury-time when Sebastian Tagliabue nodded in a reflex header into the net after Al Ahli goalkeeper Majid Nasser had parried off his first attempt.
“We always knew it was going to be a difficult match. But at the end of it all, we have three points and that is what matters to us,” Olaroiu told media.
“Unfortunately we were suffering out there but the most important thing is that we got the three points under all circumstances. The players once again proved their personalities that they are one team and one family. It was important to win the three points and it was important to be where we are today,” he added.
The win — their fifth from nine matches so far — took the defending champions into third place with 18 points, still five behind leaders Al Jazira who had earlier shot to the top of the AGL standings with a 7-3 drubbing of Al Shabab. Al Wahda slipped down a notch into fifth with 16 points against their name.
“We take one match at a time, overcome all our problems, stick around each other and keep fighting. The good thing is that we have the motivation as a team and that is very important to us,” Olaroiu insisted.
Al Wahda coach Javier Aguirre rued the minor mistakes from his team. “It was going to be tough for both. And this is the kind of game where one cannot afford to make any mistakes. For us as the away team, it was always going to be tougher. We made two mistakes and they punished us,” Aguirre said.
“Though we were down by a goal, we never gave up till the end. My players fought like soldiers and got one goal. Finally we ran out of time. Perhaps what won Al Ahli the game was that they made zero mistakes especially in their defence. Everybody knew his job and they executed it to perfection,” he added.
“Nothing is lost. We want to play the next game and win. We are only in December and we will see who is where in May.”
