Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Riyadh: Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia moved three points clear of Al Ain in the race for a knockout stage berth in the AFC Champions League with a 2-0 win over the newly-crowned United Arab Emirates league champions at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium on Tuesday.
Salem Al Dawsari gave the hosts an ideal start when he fired in the opening goal after only four minutes and Wesley capped a fine move that extended their advantage in the 24th minute.
Al Ain showed a great deal of attacking verve as the game progressed but they could not find a goal as they slipped to third in their group after suffering their sixth consecutive AFC Champions League defeat in Saudi Arabia.
“We had a good game and the players were really great as they put in a good performance and created many scoring chances,” said Al Hilal coach Zlatko Dalic.
“However, our main problem is that we failed to score from the chances that we had and this is a problem that we must work on.
“We will try our best to fix the mistakes that we made tonight and prepare the team for our last group match which will be very important for us in order to advance from the group and win a place in the knockout stage.”
The home side had a penalty appeal turned down less than a minute into the game when Nawaf Al Abid appeared to be dragged down by Fares Juma in the Al Ain box.
The opening goal would not be long in coming though as Al Hilal opened the scoring in the fourth minute after a short corner routine. Salem Al Dawsari took the corner and got the ball back on the top right corner of the box where he launched a thunderbolt of a shot that flew past goalkeeper Mahmoud Al Tenaiji into the top corner of the net.
Al Ain took time to settle into their attacking rhythm but just when it seemed that they were about to take control of the game, the home side put together a fine passing movement that produced a second goal.
After the Al Hilal players had exchanged a series of passes that had the Al Ain defence chasing shadows, Wesley (Wesley Lopes da Silva) played the ball into the box to a heavily-guarded Yasser Al Qahtani. He swivelled and played the ball back to the Brazilian striker, who ran unchallenged into the box before flicking his attempt ball past Al Tenaiji.
Asamoah Gyan should have pulled a goal back for the visitors minutes later when he rose above the Al Hilal defence for an open header that he sent wide.
Al Hilal had a change to extend their lead two minutes into the second half when a corner was flicked to the far post where Abdulla Zori met the ball with a fierce volley that goalkeeper managed to keep out with his legs.
At the other end, Omar Abdulrahman played a neat through pass in the 53rd minute to Alex Brosque who ran clear from the centre circle but blazed over the crossbar with only goalkeeper Abdullah Mohammed to beat.
While Al Ain enjoyed the majority of possession, it was Al Hilal who created the more dangerous chances in the closing minutes and they could have extended their lead as Wesley (pictured) saw his effort deflected over while Zori hit the crossbar with another attempt.
“Al Hilal deserved to win tonight as they had a good performance and they were the better side. We tried our best to create some scoring chances but the early goal surprised us and we couldn’t make a good comeback,” said Al Ain coach Cosmin Olaroiu.
“We tried to level the score but when we were looking for the equaliser, Al Hilal scored a second goal which affected us. We went into the second half looking to reduce the deficit but we failed to score and when you don’t score you can’t win matches.”
Photo: WSG