Al Ain coach Zoran Mamic is happy he can keep looking to the future when his qualified side’s group-stage commitments in the Arabian Gulf Cup wind up against Emirates Club.
In the absence of a sizeable international cohort, the Boss have selected promising youngsters such as centre-back Saeed Juma and forward Mohd Khalfan throughout a successful Group B-campaign. But underutilised players such as Egypt-born midfielder Mohamed Fathy should now get a fresh chance to impress, against opponents who must win to stand a realistic chance of progression to the quarter-finals.
“Since the competition’s start, our goal was to provide a decent performance,” said Mamic.
“We will definitely now choose a number of players who’ve not had a chance to participate in the Arabian Gulf Cup. This will help them show their potential.”
Meanwhile, Al Wahda completed a near-perfect Group A-campaign as they beat Al-Ittihad Kalba 2-0. The Clarets finished as comfortable group winners having gone unbeaten without conceding a single goal in their six matches.
Caio’s brace led Al Wasl to a convincing 4-2 victory over Dibba, taking them to fourth place with seven points.
Al Ahli on the other hand climbed to second spot in Group A courtesy of match-winner Henrique Luvannor who struck twice in a 2-1 win over now third-placed Baniyas.
