Al Katheeri and Diaky lead Al Ain to 2-1 win over Kalba
Despite the difficulty of missing many of its key players, Al Ain managed today night to conclude Round 13 of the Arabian Gulf League with a 2-1 away win over Ittihad Kalba.
Al Ain’s win was secured by Saeed Al Katheeri and Ibrahim Diaky who scored in 42nd and 90+1st minutes; while the Brazilian striker Ciel scored for the hosts at 80th minute.
The win pushes Al Ain to the second place in the table with a tally of 26 points lagging by 3 points behind the table leader; while Kalba remains in 11th place with 9 points.
‘Amouri’ Recognized
Before the kickoff, Ittihad Kalba insisted on honoring Al Ain’s playmaker Omar Abdurrahman on winning Asian Footballer of the Year 2016 Award. He was presented with a nice bouquet of flowers and Kalba’s Jersey 10 bearing his name by Issa Khalfan Al Dhabbahi, Kalba’s Chairman.
High Tempo
The game started on a high tempo with a clear dominance by Al Ain over the midfield. Al Ain piled pressure by attacking directly from deep positions and down the flanks forcing their hosts to step back and rely on counterattacks.
In 22nd minute, Kalba’s Hamad Abdurrahman triggered a rocket shot from outside the box but it was kept out thanks to a sharp save by Khalid Issa.
Al Ain Attempts
In 30th minute and after a fantastic and brisk give-and-go, Omar Abdurrahman passed a cross to Saeed Al Katheeri who was positioned in front the goal but it was too fast to catch.
Omar also tried a free kick from the edge, but it was saved in difficulty by Kalba’s goalie in 35th minutes.
Again, Omar gave Al Katheeri another opportunity to score by sending him a fantastic pass in front of the goal, but Al Katheeri’s shot went past the post.
Al Ain Leads
Al Ain put an end to a series of failure attempts at Kalba’s goal and managed to translate its preponderance into a lead when Al Katheeri headed Bandar Al Ahbabi’s corner kick into Kabba’s net ending the first half with a 1-0 lead for his side.
Absolute Control
From the very moment of the second half, Al Ain completely dominated the proceedings to cushion its lead.
Caio Lucas was about to do it when he maneuvered Kalba’s defenders and shot from the edge, but Kalba’s goalie kept it out with the tips of his fingers; again, Al Ain messed up the corner kick.
Kalba’s Comeback
In 80th minutes, Ciel pulled Kalba back into the game when he levelled taking advantage of a counterattack.
Al Ain’s Final Word
At the stoppage time, Diaky returned the favor of his coach for sending him in in the last minutes of the game and scored in 90+1st minute ending the game with the scoreboard reading 2-1 for Al Ain.
Al Ain 2
Goals Saeed Al Katheeri, 42”; Ibrahim Diaky, 90+1
Lineup Khalid Issa, Khalid Abdurrahman, Lee Myung-Joo, Fawzi Fayez, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Ahmad Berman, Amer Abdurrahman, Mohamed Abdurrahman, Caio Lucas, Omar Abdurrahman, Saeed Al Katheeri
Substitutions Douglas Dyanfres, Danilo Asprilla and Ibrahim Diaky came on for Saeed Al Katheeri, Caio Lucas and Amer Abdurrahman at 70th, 78th and 83rd minutes respectively
Yellow Cards Saeed Al Katheeri, 65”
Red Cards None
Kalba 1
Goals Ciel, 80”
Lineup Ibrahim Issa, Yaqoub Hassan Al Bloushi, Walid Juma, Ali Saeed, Hamad Abdurrahman, Khalid Ali Khamis, Modibo Maiga, Yasser Abdulla, Ghanem Ahmad Bashir, Bakare Kone, Ciel
Substitutions Shaheen Suroor, Hamdan Nasser Masoud and Suleiman Youssef replaced Hamad Abdurrahan, Ghanem Ahmad Bashir and Ciel at 40th, 59th and 84th minutes
Yellow Cards Khalid Ali, 14”; Hassan Al Bloushi, 72”
Red Cards None
Referees
The match was officiated by Yaqoub Al Hamadi assisted by Masoud Hassan (1st Assistant); Mohamed Al Obeidi (2nd Assistant); Abdulla Naji (Fourth Official); Ali Makhloof (Referee Observer) and Yasser Bumajeed (Match Commissioner).
Audience
The match was seen by 4,123 fans at Kalba Stadium.
