Issam Abdullah: The last minutes were the toughest
Issam Abdullah, Al Ain adminstrator, congratulated the club and fans on qualifying for the AFC finals after holding El Jaish of Qatar to a 2-2 draw, rating it as a step forward to hopefully win the Asian title for the second time after the 2003 breakthrough.
Being the 2003 AFC champions, and the 2005 runners-up, Al Ain seeks mainly to restore the title despite the recent difficulties such as the injuries picked up by many players as well as the absence of more than 7 ‘international’ players from training sessions while playing in the UAE National team.
“The biggest impetus which magically motivated the squad – as well the staff – and propelled them to double their efforts was the message sent by His Highness Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi Emirate, First Deputy President of Al Ain Sports and Cultural Club, and First Deputy President of the Honorary Board of the Club, after winning Lokomotiv Tashkent”, he said.
Abdullah pointed out that the difficult moments experienced by the players before and during the match were not unusual since the match was extremely crucial to qualify for the Asia’s most prestigious championship, making clear that reserve players were the most strained as they were watching every single movement on the pitch.
“My worst nightmare was that our players might be cautioned and shown yellow cards sending them off the next match. As administrative staffs, we helped the coach avoiding such troubles”, he commented.
For him, the last 10 minutes of the game were the toughest. He recalled the 2005 match against PAS Tehran, when Al Ain was lagging by 3 goals behind until the last 15 minutes when Hilal Saeed scored two goals, thus undoing the frustration. “During the match against El Jaish SC, we’ve all breathed life when Mohammed Abdurrahman scored the equalizer”.
