The sky is the limit for Al Ahli now that historic AFC Champions League progression has put the smiles back on their faces, according to winger Oussama Assaidi.
– ACL: Al Ain cruise past Naft Tehran to set up Al Ahli knockout clash
– FUTURE STARS: UEFA European U17 Championship: Top six to watch
– QUAGLIARELLA: Serie A’s master of spectacular goals
A late brace from striker Ahmed Khalil saw the Red Knights secure a helter-skelter 3-2 win against Tractor Sazi on Tuesday, sending them through to the knockout stages of Asia’s elite club competition for the first time.
Their remarkable progression in the final batch of Group D fixtures provided a real high point in a season of disappointment for the 2013/14 treble holders.
Spicy matchup ahoy! Al Ain beat Naft Tehran 3-0 to win #ACL2015 Group B & set up a last-16 clash with #AGLeague rivals Al Ahli.
— Paul Freelend (@PaulFreelend) May 6, 2015
Domestic rivals and newly crowned Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain await in the round of 16. The sides have a heated recent history, Ahli claiming a 1-0 Arabian Gulf Super Cup triumph in March and boss Cosmin Olaroiu defecting to Dubai in controversial circumstances during summer 2013.
A gaping 21 points and six positions separate the sides in the top flight, but 26-year-old winter signing Assaidi believes the feel-good factor now flowing through Rashid Stadium will give Ahli a significant boost.
“It is nice to play against them [Al Ain],” the former Liverpool wide man said. “We will give everything against them. We are like a family team. We fight for everything.
“I have only been here for three-and-a-half months but we have won the cup and now we have qualification to the second round. It is nice to do these things for the club. Everyone is laughing again.”
Ahli appeared to be on course to crash out of the ACL once again, twice going behind bottom-placed Tractor. They found themselves 2-1 down with less than 15 minutes to go, before two perfect headers from UAE front man Khalil saw the Rashid stands erupt as their heroes progressed courtesy of a superior head-to-head record when com- pared to Uzbekistan’s Nasaf.
“It was a huge victory, because Al Ahli have never qualified for the second round [of the ACL],” Assaidi said. “It was very hard. It was like a basketball game, going forwards and back. Everyone fought until the end and we saw what we can do. We have to keep going and improving.”
