Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Sharayea: United Arab Emirates side Al Nasr avoided the embarrassment of finishing their AFC Champions League campaign without a point as they drew 2-2 with Group C winners Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in their final game of the group stage at King Abdulaziz Sport City on Tuesday.
Waleed Bakshwn of Al Ahli and Leo Lima (Leonardo Lima da Silva) of Al Nasr traded penalties in the first half before Rashid Malallah headed the visitors ahead nine minutes into the second half.
However, Taisir Al Jassim equalised in the 77th minute to ensure that Al Ahli finished the group stage with an unbeaten record while Al Nasr managed only a single point.
“We played a beautiful game and we were so close to win as we created many scoring chances but we failed to score from these chances and eventually we had to settle for one point from the match,” said Al Ahli coach Aleksander Ilic.
“After securing our place in the knockout stage, the match was a chance for us to field some new players who didn’t play in the previous matches and they put in a good performance tonight and I’m happy with them.”
The home side took the lead after seven minutes when they were controversially awarded a penalty after an Al Nasr defender appeared to handle Eysa Al Mahyani’s just outside the Al Nasr box.
Bakshwn accepted the responsibility and sent goalkeeper Abdulla Abdulghafoor the wrong way from the spot to make it 1-0.
However, Al Nasr would be the recipients of a dubious penalty of their own 16 minutes later when Bruno Correa tumbled in the Al Ahli box despite little contact from Mohammed Aman and Leo Lima dispatched the spot kick to level the score.
There was little in the way of excitement for much of the first half but after being on the back foot for much of it, Al Nasr jumped out of the blocks as the second half got underway.
Correa forced a smart save out of goalkeeper Yasser Al Mosailem who was called into action again to keep out a misdirected header by his own defender Motaz Al Musa
But the visitors would get the goal that they deserved in the 54th minute as Malallah met Humaid Abdalla’s cross from the left with a towering header that looped over the stranded Al Mosailem.
Al Nasr seemed to be on course to claim their first win in Group C after five straight losses but Al Ahli would get a goal back in the 77th minute as Al Jassim’s low shot from 20 metres found its way through a crowd of defenders on its way past Abdulghafoor.
“We played a good match and we were the better side as we created many scoring chances and scored two goals,” said Al Nasr coach Walter Zenga.
“We were hoping to end the competition with a morale boosting win but we couldn’t hold on to our lead. Hopefully the players have learnt a lot of lessons from the competition and gained a lot of experience for the future.”
Photo: WSG