Gross sees room for improvement for Al Ahli

Second half substitute Saleh Al Amari was on target on 79 minutes to net the winner for the Saudi club after Omar Al Soma’s 20th minute opener had been cancelled out by Nasaf captain Artur Gevorkyan’s stunning free kick after the hour mark.

And with Tractorsazi Tabriz of Iran earlier defeating Emirati champions Al Ahli, Gross’ side go top of Group D, having shared a 3-3 draw with their namesakes last week in their continental opener in Dubai.

Match report: Al Ahli 2-1 Nasaf

“The match was very hard for the team and I'm happy to get the three points. We took the lead and we achieved what we were looking for,” said Al Ahli coach Gross, who was forced into four changes to the side from last week's Matchday One fixture.

“The performance of the players dropped after the first goal and that gave the chance to our opponents to score the equaliser.”

“However, we made a good comeback and our defenders were good and we managed to end the match with a win. We had many injuries due to the heavy schedule that we have but I'm confident that the players will be better in the next match.”

Defeat for Nasaf means that Ruzikul Berdiev’s side drop down to second place in Group D, a position they share with Tractorsazi, who they had defeated in their first-ever AFC Champions League victory last week in Uzbekistan.

“The two sides shared possession and we gave a hard time for our opponents who took advantage of playing at home and in front of their fans. Al Ahli played with an attacking formation and they relied on crosses from wide positions which affected us,” said Nasaf coach Bedriev.

“We were playing an away match and we had to get a positive result and that is why we pushed forward. We tried to level the scores and we managed to do so but unfortunately Al Ahli scored the winning goal late in the second half.”

Photo: WSG