The Whites smashed the lowly Bengal Tigers 6-1 on Friday night ahead of the deciding home matches against Palestine and Saudi Arabia as the second round in the AFC process reaches its conclusion.
A much-changed side, because of AFC Champions League commitments, handed out the thrashing, with players such as perennial substitute Salem Saleh impressing with a brace. Al Ahli left-back Abbas believed this run-out for several lesser lights would prove invaluable in the competitive matches to come during the next 10 days.
He said: “I think it was an easy game. We could have won by more goals, but we lost a lot of chances.
“It was good for some players (to play), as they are not playing in the Arabian Gulf League. They can now get onto the same level as others.”
Back-up centre-back Fares Juma was the only starter from Al Jazira, Al Ain and Al Nasr because of their players’ late arrivals in camp because of Asian club action. This afforded the likes of Al Dhafra forward Ahmed Ali a chance to start alongside the typically-large Ahli contingent, while usual unused substitute Hassan Ibrahim of Al Shabab played the entire second half as a makeshift defender.