Al Ahli’s merciless 8-1 dismantling of Fujairah has ensured they are riding the crest of a wave heading into tonight’s historic AFC Champions League quarter-final date, according to midfielder Habib Fardan.
The Red Knights have travelled to the Iranian capital for the first leg at Naft Tehran full of confidence after they began their Arabian Gulf League-campaign in emphatic style last Wednesday.
This has provided the perfect warm-up for the continental competition’s resumption with Ahli eyeing more goals at the Azadi Stadium.
“We did well in this game [against Fujairah], with many positive things,” 24-year-old UAE regular Fardan said. “It is the best thing for us.
“All our focus now goes on the AFC Champions League.
“For us, it is a big motivation bef-ore this game. We should play in the same way [at Naft], with the same focus and performance. I think we can do a great job there.”
Coach Cosmin Olaroiu saw his star-studded attack in vibrant form last week.
Ahli winger Ismail Al Hammadi got a predatory hat-trick, front man Lima got a debut brace, Brazil playmaker Everton Ribeiro also helped himself to a pair and on-song striker Ahmed Khalil produced an excellent individual strike.
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Fardan believes this show of force provided a useful boost to Ahli’s hopes against the Black Cats.
He said: “We took so many positive things from this game. It is good they [the attackers] all scored this game.
“It will give them more motivation. For us, it is very important for them to score for the team.”
The Red Knights made the short flight across the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, keen to get a positive result to take back to Rashid Stadium on September 16.
“Naft are a good team, well org-anised with many quality players,” Fardan added. “It will be a tough game.
“We have been given more information by the coach [Olaroiu] this week to get to know them.”
