Abu Dhabi: Coach Zlatko Dalic hailed substitute Ibrahim Diaky’s brilliance after he saw Al Ain rally from a goal deficit to beat Al Ahli 3-1 for a place in the quarter-finals of the President’s Cup on Monday.

“Really appreciate Diaky because he is making an impact towards the end,” said Dalic in the post-match press briefing.

Al Ain was trailing after Ahmad Khalil scored from a penalty to put Al Ahli in the lead. However, 12 minutes from time Diaky won a spot-kick for Al Ain after Kwon Kyung-won brought him down. Omar Abdul Rahman converted from the spot to force the match into extra-time. Diaky then stole the match-winner seven minutes into extra-time from a rebound after Ahli goalkeeper Majed Naser had blocked a shot from Danilo Asprilla. Abdul Rahman provided the perfect finishing touch as he scored his second goal in the last minute.

Despite the showing, Dalic was of the view that he would prefer Diaky playing a similar role towards the end.

“Maybe if Diaky starts from the first when other teams are fresh and strong he won’t be that effect. It is going well like this. When other teams are little down towards the end, he is fantastic. Maybe, I’m wrong and he needs to start but for now we are getting results with him being used like this,” said Dalic adding his upfront players Douglas and Asprilla were not ‘cent per cent’ fit to play the full match.

“Douglas and Asprilla weren’t 100 per cent and Lee Myung-joo was sick and had fever last night and during the day. We are happy to win but we need to take one step at a time,” said Dalic adding that, the team was peaking well as he has finally managed to get the full squad for training after a long time.

“In the last eight months from first May, we lost only one game. I really appreciate my players because they gave everything. Also the most important thing is we are together. It is a benefit for Al Ain if we don’t have any national team match. We lost pre-season camp but now we are compact being together. I know the national team is important but for me Al Ain is important,” said Dalic, who brushed aside any intention of beefing up his squad with foreign recruits during the winter transfer.

“I still trust my players and all Al Ain need is local players. My target is not to spend more money. We have to be correct as well. Very easy for me to say get more foreign players but it is not me,” asserted Dalic, who felt that his team will have to net with caution in the President’s Cup as there is very little room for error.

“We have to be strong all the time. Our big problem is we are playing match every three to four days. Last time, we lost against Jazira in the final and now there are more team like Al Nasr and Al Wasl who can surprise. We have to focus on match by match,” revealed Dalic.

Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu felt that his team lacked depth in the absence of his key players and that sealed their chances.

“We did not have key players and we were trying to fill the gaps. The absence of some of the top players affected the team. We tried to comeback in the match and it wasn’t going to be easy. We are going through a tough period right now,” said Olaroiu.

In the match played yesterday, a solitary goal from Brazilian Santos Wanderley allowed Al Nasr to get past a 10-man Dubai CSC. Al Nasr got the breakthrough after Dubai CSC Ahmad Mal Allah got the marching orders following his second yellow card in the 75th minute. Wanderley stole the match-winner soon after that, latching onto a defensive lapse. Also Al Sharjah defeated Al Oruba 3-2.