Al Ahli 2 Al Jazira 2
Al Ahli: Ciel 59', Grafite 90+1'
Al Jazira: Abdulla 32', Oliveira 90+4'
Man of the match: Hugo Viana (Al Ahli)
DUBAI // “I expect Al Jazira to play one great game,” Walter Zenga had announced on the eve of their match against Al Ahli, without a hint of modesty in his voice.
Jazira’s performance on the night, however, did not come anywhere close to greatness, but the Italian great was not complaining.
His team – slightly patchy throughout the season with defeats to Al Wasl and Al Nasr, and draws against basement clubs such as Ajman, Dubai and Al Dhafra – lifted themselves up at the Rashid Stadium to share the honours with runaway Arabian Gulf Leaders leaders Al Ahli in a dramatic finish.
Going into injury time, the teams were locked 1-1 after Ciel had cancelled out Juma Abdulla’s 32nd-minute opener.
But Grafite, finding the ball wide on the left, tip-toed his way around the Jazira defenders before flicking the ball into the far corner.
A huge roar erupted in the stands, but just a couple of minutes later, the Brazilian sharpshooter from the other side, Ricardo Oliveira, blasted home the equaliser to leave the home fans in bit of a daze.
Even Catalin Raducan, who is standing in for Cosmin Olaroiu as the Ahli coach serves a three-match suspension, was in shock and said his team deserved nothing but three points from the match.
“In my opinion, Ahli were the better team,” he said.
“We deserved more from this match. We deserved to win this match. It is really difficult to accept this result.
“We played better and created many chances, but then we lost our concentration after Grafite scored.
“We thought the game is over and we paid the penalty for this.”
Ahli, indeed, were the better side on the night.
They created numerous chances throughout the game, but failed to put the ball into the back of the net. Jazira, on the other hand, were content to protect the lead they managed to take against the run of play in the first half. Facing a barrage of attacks from the much-vaunted Ahli strikeforce, the visitors were under a lot of pressure until an Oliveira attempt – parried away by Saif Yousuf – gave them some release.
Seconds later, a clever side-heel from the Brazilian left Juma Abdulla with little to do but to tap the ball home.
Zenga, however, does not believe his team played a defensive game.
“We know Ahli are a good team,” he said.
“They have a good system of play and we did our best to bring home one important point.
“We played the best we could. They attacked more than us simply because they were a goal down. That’s natural, but it does not mean we played defensively. We have players like Nelson Valdez, Oliveira and Abdelaziz Barrada. You cannot call them defensive players.”
Ahli were unlucky not to get the equaliser a minute from the break as Grafite’s header, pushed up awkwardly by Kasheif, bounced back into play off the crossbar.
The home fan’s long and frustrating wait for a goal, however, came to an end in the 59th minute when Ciel blasted home Grafite’s tap back for him.
The stadium came alive once again, but despite creating plenty of chances in the remaining minutes, Ahli could not score until Grafite’s brilliant solo effort in injury time.
The home team and the fans celebrated for a long time, perhaps trying to waste as many seconds as possible.
The ploy, however, did not work in the end. Oliveira found enough space and time to volley home the equaliser with, practically, the final kick of the game.
Ahli were desperate to get a win as three points would have increased their lead at the top of the AGL table to six and missing that opportunity was Raducan’s biggest disappointment.
“We lost a big, big chance to put a distance between us and the other teams and we are really disappointed,” he said. “That’s one regret we have. But then just like how we won matches in the last second, today we drew one. That’s life.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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