An empty King Abdullah Sports City Stadium will provide a “big plus” for Al Ain in Tuesday’s AFC Champions League quarter-final decider against Al Ittihad, according to star striker Asamoah Gyan.
The Saudi Arabian side are appealing an Asian Football Confederation ban for home supporters incurred in the previous round, which if rejected, would deny the 60,000-capacity crowd the chance to create an intimidating partisan atmosphere for the second leg.
Ittihad need all the help they can get, after a breathtaking performance in the opening tie by the Boss was rewarded with a 2-0 victory at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Speaking ahead of a decision, which is expected to be made by Friday, Gyan admitted the potential penalty has boosted Al Ain’s chances of making the semi-finals for the first time since 2005.
He said: “It is a big plus for us, them playing at home without fans. We have an advantage there.
“But what matters is that we won [in the first leg] 2-0 and we will be going there to make sure we qualify.
“Whatever the result may be, we have to qualify. That is our goal.”
Al Ain were defeated in the ACL final by Ittihad nine years ago, but coach Zlatko Dalic’s men have given themselves every chance of gaining revenge with last Tuesday’s result.
Goals from Ismail Ahmed and Gyan separated the sides, with the former urging his team-mates to “keep calm” and get the job done next week.
“We wanted to win convincingly, to make sure we could secure our Champions League dream,” the 28-year-old said.
“We are very united. We were disciplined, we kept our composure and there was no pressure on anybody.”
Of the second leg, he said: “It is a very big game for us. We have to keep calm, as it is not done yet. We have to stay focused and do the right thing.”
His low finish against Ittihad cemented his place as the competition’s top scorer on 11, with a successful World Cup for Ghana seeing him become the leading African marksman in the tournament’s history.
“Personally, I am very happy about scoring [against Ittihad],” he said.
“I am still scoring, and it is a good thing for a striker. The team have helped me so much. On a personal level, I am very happy.
“I have to thank the players for their support. I had a great World Cup and I came back and I am still scoring. It is a great thing for me.”
