Caio & Diaky give Al Ain a 2-1 win over Al Shabab
Al Ain secured on ‘Wednesday’ evening an exciting home victory over Al Shabab at HBZ Stadium in Round 6 of the Arabian Gulf League.
Following a scoreless half, Caio Lucas opened the scoreboard for Al Ain in 54th minute; Rashid Hassan levelled for the visiting team in 81st minute. It was Ibrahim Diaky’s last-minute goal that ignited the scoreboard to read 2-1 for Al Ain.
As expected, Al Ain started by pilling pressure but failed to add the final touch to their offenses., Asprilla attempt to give his side an early lead in 5th minute failed, when he had gone clean through on goal, but his shot bounced off Al Shabab keeper’s foot; he attempted again at the goal but a defender cleared the ball into a corner kick which was again wasted by Al Ain.
Injuries forced the coach Zlatko Dalić to make 2 substitutions in just one minute; Ahmad Berman and Bandar Mohamed came on for Ismail Ahmad and Fawzy Fayez in 25th and 26th minutes respectively. Al Ain continued their offensive style till the last minute of the first half which ended scorelessly.
In the second half, Al Ain managed to lead in 54th minute when Caio Lucas skillfully broke through Al Shabab defenders and unleashed a powerful rocket shot from edge of the box to score for his side.
Just 9 minutes before the end, Al Shabab managed to draw when their substitute Rashid Hassan scored from a long-range which was missed by Al Ain’s keeper Mohamed Busenda in 81st minute.
It was Ibrahim Diaky who tipped the balance returning the favor of his coach who sent him in just 12 minutes before the end; his agonizing last-minute goal had Al Ain leave the pitch with a 2-1 win.
Al Shabab fans support Al Ain in AFC tournament
While their team was playing against Al Ain, Al Shabab fans raised a large sign with 2 phrases; ‘You Deserve’ was written in the first part colored in green that symbolizes Al Shabab and ‘AFC Title’ was on the second part colored purple that stands for Al Ain. The gesture was highly appreciated by everyone as it strongly expresses all Emiratis’ desire to regain the AFC title by Al Ain.
Special support to Al Enezi & Lee
HBZ Stadium saw 3 large sings fixed by Al Ain fans; the first held the hatch tag “# Our Eyes on Asia Title”; the second expressed a nice greeting to Al Ain’s defender Mohannad Al Enezi; while the third showed the South Korean word 챔피언 meaning ‘Champion’ addressed to Al Ain’s South Korean Lee Myung-Joo.
Both players expressed their extreme appreciation for the nice gesture quite common from Al Ain fans. “I was extremely moved by the greeting; our fans are really exceptional,” said Al Enezi; while Lee commented “It was the loveliest message especially it was in my mother tongue addressed by the greatest fans in UAE.”
Al Ain 2
Goals Caio Lucas, 54”; Ibrahim Diaky, 90”
Lineup Mohamed Saeed Busenda, Saeed Al Menhali, Mohannad Salem Al Enezi, Ismail Ahmad, Fawzy Fayez, Lee Myung-Joo, Amer Abdurrahman, Danilo Asprilla, Caio Lucas, Mohamed Abdurrahman, Douglas Dyanfres
Substitutions Ahmad Berman, Bandar Mohamed and Ibrahim Diaky came on for Ismail Ahmad, Fawzy Fayez and Amer Abdurrahman in 25th, 26th and 76th minutes respectively
Yellow Cards Caio Lucas, 66”
Red Cards None
Al Shabab 1
Goals Rashid Hassan
Lineup Salem Abdulla, Mohamed Ayedh, Mohamed Marzooq, Azizbek Haydarov, Ruud Boymans, Tomás De Vincenti, Henrique Luvannor, Mahmoud Qassem, Hassan Ibrahim, Marwan Mohamed, Khalifa Abdulla
Substitutions Fahd Khalfan, Rashid Hassan and Mohamed Juma replaced Azizbek Haydarov, Khalifa Abdulla and Mahmoud Qassem in 46th, 59th and 69th minutes respectively
Yellow Cards Mahmoud Qassem, 66”; Tomás De Vincenti, 90”
Red Card Hassan Ibrahim, 77”
Referees
The game was officiated by Mohamed Abdulla Hassan ‘Principal Referee, assisted by Zayed Dawood and Hassan Ahmad Al Hammadi; Yassin Al Mansoori ‘Fourth Official’; Saleh Al Marzooqi ‘Referee Observer’; Waleed Taher ‘Match Commissioner’.
