UAE President’s Cup: Al Nasr bask in the glory of penalty shootout success

Abu Dhabi: Euphoria levels matched those of the thermometer as Al Nasr claimed their first UAE President’s Cup since 1989, beating Al Ahli 3-0 on penalties after a thoroughly forgettable final at Al Ain’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Jubilant Blue Wave fans streamed on to the pitch at the end of more than two hours of an arduous encounter between the two Dubai rivals, who toiled in punishing temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius.

Al Nasr had created few chances and scarcely deserved to progress to extra time and penalties, which they won emphatically 3-0, but were gifted a last-gasp equaliser to Ahmad Khalil’s first-half opener through Kwon Kyung-won’s disastrous own goal.

A minute before full-time, the South Korean inexplicably sliced Ahmad Ebrahim’s cross into his own net and a shell-shocked Al Ahli never recovered, Ossama Assaidi, Luis Jimenez and Abdul Aziz Sanqour all fluffing their efforts in the shootout.

By contrast, Al Nasr’s penalties were confident and assured, with Pablo Hernandez, Renan Garcia and Ebrahima Toure netting with aplomb. An insipid first-half display a distant memory as unfettered joy erupted in the stands and on the pitch among the Blue Wave fraternity.

Al Nasr’s charismatic coach, Ivan Jovanovic, who made several impassioned pleas to his side’s supporters to ratchet up the noise levels during the game, said: “The emotions are very, very strong. At the end, you play these games with heart and strong emotions.”

Al Nasr’s victory is the third title triumph of the tenure of the Serb, who arrived at the club in 2013, following this season’s Arabian Gulf Cup and last year’s GCC Champions League.

Their President’s Cup success also secured them qualification for the AFC Champions League, but Jovanovic was merely keen to bask in the glory of a triumph that looked highly improbable until Kwon’s suicidal intervention.

“The game was balanced from both sides,” said Jovanovic. “It was decided on small details.

“These small details changed the psychology of game. This is what happens when you are in the final.”

The Serb insisted his side had merited victory despite their lacklustre performance.

Al Ahli’s set-piece bombardment yielded dividends nine minutes before the break, when Khalil outjumped goalkeeper Ahmad Shabieh to head in Everton Ribeiro’s corner, and the Red Knights comfortably resisted Al Nasr’s ineffectual attempts to restore parity.

Jovanovic said: “I believe as a team we absolutely deserved to win if you see which teams we had to qualify against — like Sharjah, [holders] Al Ain, Al Shabab and Al Ahli.

“I have to congratulate the efforts of my players. They did a big job.”

Al Nasr captain Brett Holman admitted his side had been below par and had lacked invention — and that they had profited from ‘luck’ in the form of the late own goal.

But he added: “If you work hard, you never give up. Sometimes you need a bit of luck. I don’t need to speak about the game, I don’t care. We won the game.”

He went on to praise goalkeeper Shabieh, who saved one penalty and whose ‘intimidating’ presence in goal led to two other misses.

“He’s a penalty killer,” said the former Australia international, who joined Al Nasr from Aston Villa in 2013. “We’ve seen how important he is over and over again. He’s going to be a great and important keeper for the UAE, I’ve no doubt about it.”

Jovanovic’s crestfallen counterpart Cosmin Olaroiu refused to comment on his team’s bitter defeat — they were bidding for a record ninth President’s Cup success and were in their third consecutive final — and headed straight for the team coach to lick his wounds.

It leaves last season’s Arabian Gulf League champions — they finished a dismal seventh this year — with only March’s Arabian Gulf Super Cup win over old foes Al Ain to reflect on with satisfaction from a distinctly underwhelming campaign.