This weekend we saw a significant moment when star striker Asamoah Gyan was injured at the end of Al Ain’s 3-1 victory at home to Al Dhafra. I tell you, Gyan is their most important player. That is because he can make the difference with what he does both on and off the pitch. He did not play against Al Jazira because of suspension and they lost.
For me, if he had been on the pitch there is a big chance that result would have been different. He has tremendous personality, ability and big experience. Wow, he can score goals. It is so important that some players stay on the pitch. Gyan is one of them.
We do not know how serious his injury is. Al Ain will hope he can recover as quickly as possible. Al Ain boss Zlatko Dalic has received some criticism for bringing him on as a substitute and not resting him after his Ghana duties, but every coach stands by their decisions. It is not for me to decide what is right and what is wrong.
Humbled by this news. Hard work really pays. Let’s make a date on December 6th in Frankfurt: http://t.co/W7uNbGxLfK
— ASAMOAH GYAN (@ASAMOAH_GYAN3) October 20, 2014
We also saw another important striker in good form as Ibrahima Toure struck a hat-trick in Al Nasr’s 5-1 thrashing of Fujairah. In my mind, I would demand even more from Toure as he scored goals three, four and five for Nasr. They weren’t important goals for victory, the first goals were. But it is so good for you as a coach when you see your striker scoring like that. He will be full of confidence for the next game, which is a huge one at Al Jazira on Thursday.
Talking of Jazira, they lost the round’s most high-profile match against AGL champions Al Ahli 4-2. When you look at the squad the Red Knights possess, it is the best in the league. They have the best local players and several of the best foreign ones. Of course, they must play to win everything, again. The result was normal for a team of Ahli’s strength. What was absolutely not normal was losing to Al Shabab and drawing against Ajman and Fujairah.
But this is football, strange things can happen. Ahli won the title by many points last season, but now it is so close. Al Wahda lead the way on 11 points. Al Ain have played two games less, so we will wait and see what they do. Anything can happen.
Elsewhere, Luis Garcia finally won his first league game at the sixth attempt for Bani Yas when they prevailed 2-0 against Shabab. It would have been a relief getting those three points, finally. But pressure is there all the time for a coach. If you don’t like it, you change your job. Simple.
And it is not getting any easier for bottom-placed Kalba, who lost 3-2 to fellow strugglers Ajman. Kalba’s future depends upon themselves and the performances of their foreign players. We saw in this round the importance of the foreign players when Fujairah lost heavily to Nasr with striker Boubacar Sanogo suspended. It can be no coincidence that they struggled so badly without him.
