Omar and Gyan strike to take Al Clasico honours

Sport360 staff 22:57 08/03/2015
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  • Omar Abdulrahman evades an opponent en route to goal during the game against Al Jazira at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

    The Arabian Gulf League title race appears to have already been run, victors Al Ain leaving with more than just the Al Clasico bragging rights from last night’s frenetic derby against Al Jazira.

    The Boss now hold a six-point lead over the second-placed Pride of Abu Dhabi with only eight games remaining courtesy of their Omar Abdulrahman-inspired triumph. Chances were shared at a noisy Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, yet the hosts always managed to exert superior control in a contest where all the goals were scored before half-time.

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    A third top-flight title in four seasons surely beckons, though coach Zlatko Dalic was quick to head off any complacency.

    “Yes, it is a big advantage, which I actually see as seven points, because we now have a better head-to-head record,” he said. “However, I don’t want to think like this – I'll tell my players that we're in the same position as Jazira were not long ago – we must not think it is finished.

    “In front of us are eight games, 24 points. Nothing ends with this result.”

    Omar Abdulrahman puts pressure on an opponent during Sunday's night 'Al Clasico' (Photos courtesy of the Arabian Gulf League).

    Long-term leaders Jazira only threatened repeatedly after the break as Al Ain sat back, one miss from 20-goal top scorer Mirko Vucinic likely to haunt them for the remaining months of the campaign.

    Omar Abdulrahman – celebrating his first start since February 2 – opened the scoring in just the 17th minute in a moment that sums up Jazira’s omnipresent penchant for calamity in defence. A rushed back pass from left-back Abdulla Mousa was embarrassingly mishit by stand-in goalkeeper Mohammad Ali Ghuloom, the playmaker steadying himself before lashing in with his left peg.

    Al Ain kept up the pressure in an impressive first-half display and were soon rewarded with a second, albeit one scored in controversial circumstances. With Jazira defender Khalid Sabael standing up following injury in the opposition half, Asamoah Gyan broke at speed from distance and curled in a beautifully-measured second from just inside the box.

    Arguments ensued but the Ghana captain cannot be cited for any lack of sportsmanship, according to Gerets.

    “I talk with Gyan [at the final whistle] and I have to say he’s right,” he said. “Gyan is a good player and is a gentleman.

    Action from the game between Al Ain and Al Jazira at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (Photos courtesy of the Arabian Gulf League).

    “So when he has the ball he looked back to see if Sabeal was still on the ground, but Sabeal was standing up already.

    “It will be difficult, but as long as we have a chance to be champions, we will think about achieving this. As long as there is hope, there’s life.”

    Jazira had only previously sparked from three useless free-kicks, thought it was from a set piece in injury time that they secured a lifeline. Goalkeeper Khalid Essa spilled Basher Saeed’s dipping effort into the path of the eye-catching Manuel Lanzini to tap in.

    The late concession saw the two sides begin the second period like a fight scene from a Rocky movie, trading blows at constant rate. Al Ain’s Miroslav Stoch and Jires Kembo Ekoko missed sitters on the counter-attack, while Vucinic’s sidefoot was too lackadaisical at the other end.

    Al Ain managed to hold the visitors at arm’s length as the pace slowed, Lanzini coming closest to a leveller with a curled effort. The Boss then dealt superbly with Salem’s red card, closing ranks at the death.

    If the Boss continue to show such determination in the challenges ahead, the AGL crown is surely theirs.

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