Ahli make amends with 2-1 victory over Shabab

Matt Jones - Editor 05:43 12/03/2016
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  • Midfield Magic: Al Ahli’s Majed Hassan.

    They will say it wasn’t personal, but after being replaced in the Arabian Gulf Cup final by Al Shabab, Al Ahli will have enjoyed this victory immensely.

    Khamis Esmail’s six minutes as a substitute the last time these Dubai rivals met – in the AG Cup semi-final – caused the Red Knights to relinquish their place in the final as his registration following a January move from Al Jazira had not been rubber-stamped.

    Last night it was the Hawks who were left seeing red, twice in fact, as Mahmoud Qassim and Carlos Villanueva were dismissed in a 2-1 defeat that saw Ahli stay top of league.

    Goals from Ahmed Khalil and Ciel in an exhilarating second-half were enough to keep Cosmin Olaroiu’s side a point ahead of Al Ain, as Hassan Ibrahim’s late strike for the Hawks proved nothing more than a consolation.

    Shabab coach Caio Junior said: “To play with 11 against Al Ahli is very difficult, with 10 it’s worse.

    “The second yellow is not fair for Villanueva, it wasn’t intentional. He’s a good professional and this situation finished the game. Even with only nine players we scored against Al Ahli.”

    Ahli counterpart Cosmin Olaroiu was happy with a raucous atmosphere provided by the home fans at Rashid Stadium.

    “I’m happy we played good football and people enjoyed it and people are coming more and more,” he said. “It’s good for us and we need to build a good camaraderie with the fans to get them into the stadium and you only get that by playing well and today we played well and took three points.”

    Junior had earlier in the week spoken in glowing terms about his side’s impressive defensive record, and it seemed initially that they would frustrate the hosts as they refused to be breached.

    Ahli goalkeeper Majed Nasser brilliantly touched Azizbek Haydarov’s free-kick onto the post as Shabab had the first sight of goal, but the Hawks rode their luck throughout the opening period.

    Ahli eventually found the key to unlock the visitors’ defence just 45 seconds after the restart, captain Khalil calmly side-footing in Ciel’s excellent low cross.

    The sparks that had seemed likely before kick-off finally flew when Essa Mohammed caught Khalil and the Shabab defender could count himself lucky not to see red. In the 53rd minute, Qassim did, referee Hamad Yousef deeming his foul on Ciel worthy of a second yellow card.

    With 20 minutes to go Ciel deservedly scored to seal the points, burying the rebound after Khalil’s initial effort had been brilliantly kept out by Hassan Hamza.

    Two minutes later, a frustrated Villanueva was given his marching orders after catching Abdulaziz Sanquor for his second yellow.

    Ahli threatened to make it embarrassing – Hamza kept the scoreline respectable – but with eight minutes to go the away side made it interesting when Ibrahim crashed an effort in off the crossbar following a goalmouth scramble.

    But Ahli held on and the final whistle was greeted with a huge cheer from a vociferous home crowd.

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