Al Ahli 2 Al Dhafra 1
Al Ahli Grafite 9', Jimenez 112'
Al Dhafra Diop 7'
Man of the match Luis Jimenez (Al Ahli)
ABU DHABI // Al Ahli are one game away from retaining the President’s Cup, thanks to an extra-time winner from Luis Jimenez against Al Dhafra on Thursday night at Zayed Sports City.
The Chilean midfielder, who counts as Ahli’s Asian player thanks to holding a Palestinian passport as the Dubai club’s Asian player, picked up a long ball from the Portuguese midfielder Hugo Viana inside the box, jinked past a couple of defenders before drilling a low shot home to seal the game with eight minutes of extra time left.
“I think we deserved to win because we missed many scoring chances. It was a difficult match against a team that is playing well at this moment,” said Catalin Raducan, Ahli’s assistant coach.
“It was an important win because this result will motivate the players for the remainder of the season as our focus from now on will be on the upcoming league games.”
Al Ahli will meet Al Ain in the final in May. Al Ain got past Al Nasr in the other semi-final, 2-1.
Makhete Diop gave Dhafra the perfect start. With just seven minutes gone, the tall Senegalese striker fired a first-time shot past Saif Yousuf, the Al Ahli goalkeeper, after a cross from Ahmed Sulaiman.
However, Dhafra’s joy was short lived. Abdulla Sultan, the Dhafra keeper, misjudged a dipping cross from the Brazilian Ciel and compatriot Grafite got a faint touch to make it 1-1 two minutes later.
“We scored soon after Dhafra scored and it was an important moment of the game. I can say it was the turning point,” Raducan said.
“Teams like Dhafra are difficult to beat because they play a close game. Still we created a lot of chances and could have scored earlier. We are happy we managed to score in the extra time because had it gone to a penalty shootout, it could have gone either way.”
After two early goals, neither side could make a breakthrough in the remaining 81 minutes of normal time.
Ahli dominated possession and at times it seemed like one-way traffic but Dhafra came closest to scoring on the counter attack. Diop timed his jump to perfection to connect with a header off Bander Mohammed’s cross only to see the ball brilliantly pushed over the bar by an alert Yousuf 13 minutes from time.
Grafite was denied at the other end with Sultan doing well to block a powerful shot from inside the box before the game moved into extra time and Jimenez gave Ahli a deserved win.
The Dhafra coach Abdullah Misfir was gracious in defeat.
“We scored an early goal but didn’t take advantage as we conceded one from a set piece through our own mistakes almost immediately,” the Emirati said.
“It could have been different had we preserved the lead for a longer period. Yes, we are a bit disappointed that we lost, but realistically, we were not the favourites.
“So I am pleased with the team’s performance. I think we have done pretty well this season. We can only leave this result behind us and continue to work hard to achieve our objectives.”
Dhafra are still in the semi-finals of the League Cup and are eighth in the league table on 24 points, 12 behind the leaders Ahli, with 10 rounds left.
Al Jazira send Valdez to Olympiakos on loan
After failing to impress in the first six months of his two-year contract with Al Jazira in the Arabian Gulf League, Nelson Valdez has been loaned to Greek club Olympiakos on a six-month deal, the Abu Dhabi club confirmed on Thursday.
The Paraguayan forward was replaced by Felipe Caicedo, the Ecuadorean international who moved from the Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow on a three-year deal earlier this month.
Valdez, 30, made only 12 league appearances for Jazira and most of the time came off the bench after suffering from a niggling knee injury.
He scored four times, two of which came in their 3-0 win over Al Shaab in his last game on January 8.
apassela@thenational.ae
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