Etisalat Pro League leaders Al Ain held second-placed Al Ahli to a 0-0 draw at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Saturday evening. The rescheduled Round 14 match result now gives Al Ain a points total of 50, whilst Al Ahli are ten behind on 40. The result of this fixture, however, has been suspended until confirmation of a decision from the Disciplinary Committee following an incident late in the game involving one of the match officials.
Al Ahli came streaming forward in the early stages, racking up seven attacks in the opening 20 minutes, whilst Al Ain failed to muster anything during the same period. In the 9th minute Ismael Al Hammadi saw his on-target effort from the right-hand side crucially cleared off the line by Al Ain’s defensive midfielder Matei Mirel Radoi. Ahmad Khalil – operating more on the flanks than as an out-and-out striker as Al Ahli coach Quique Flores accommodated all his main attacking options into the starting lineup – hit a teasing cross into the area in the 18th minute, but it was somehow missed by both the head of Grafite and the gloves of Al Ain goalkeeper Mahmood Al Mas as it flew through the area. Five minutes later Portuguese international Ricardo Quaresma forced a fine save from Al Mas as he hit a beautiful shot with the outside of his right boot.
The importance of the contest to both sets of players was clear to see, as nobody was shy in the tackle and every ball was fiercely contested. Al Ahli’s offensive-minded lineup was pinning Al Ain firmly back in their own half but the home side lacked the cutting edge required in the final third, and the longer they went without scoring the more confidence Al Ain gained that they could snatch a goal on the counter attack. In the 32nd minute Mohammed Abdulrahman showed that Omar is not the only brother with a repertoire of dazzling skills in his locker by demonstrating some fancy footwork down the left, but unfortunately for Al Ain he strayed into an offside position when receiving a give-and-go from Kembo-Ekoko. Four minutes later Al Ahli’s Grafite was tripped just on the edge of the area, giving them a set piece in a very dangerous position, but Mohammad Khalil’s free kick did not make it past the wall and Al Ain immediately broke forward in a rapid counter attack. Mohamed Ahmed strode down the right wing and picked out Yousef Ahmed, but the youngster put his shot straight at Al Ahli goalkeeper Majed Naser and Jires Kembo-Ekoko’s follow-up rose just over the crossbar in what was Al Ain’s best chance of the first half. Al Ahli continued to threaten through Jiminez, Ahmed Khalil, Quaresma, Grafite and the industrious Ismael Al Hammadi, but could not find a way through and somehow ended the first half on level terms at 0-0.
Al Ain started the second half more brightly as they tried to assert themselves on the contest, winning a free kick in a dangerous position just four minutes after the restart but Ismael Al Hammadi took the full force of Kembo-Ekoko’s free kick in his face as he did his job in the wall. One minute later Yousef Ahmed brilliantly controlled a pass from Helal Saeed before turning to shoot on his left side, but the effort rose just over the crossbar. In the 52nd minute Yousef Ahmed again skipped forward but his final ball was neither a shot on target nor a cross, and soon the managers were bringing on reinforcements to try and find the difference in the game. Coach Cosmin of Al Ain made the first change, bringing Omar Abdulrahman off the bench in place of Fawzi Fayez in the 54th minute, before Quique Flores replaced Ahmed Khalil with Majed Hassan three minutes later. Al Ain also introduced Australian striker Alex Brosque coming on for Yousef Ahmed just after the hour mark. Al Ahli enjoyed far fewer attacks than they had done in the first half, but a long-range effort from Amir Mubarak Ghanim went close in the 63rd minute. With nothing to separate the sides, managers threw on their final substitutions in the closing ten minutes with Ricardo Quaresma being withdraw in the 81st minute for Adnan Al Beloshi, and Mohammed Abdulrahman replaced by Ali Al Wehaibi for the visitors. Four minutes from time Omar Abdulrahman tried his luck from a very distant free kick, but his effort was always rising and did not trouble Majed Naser in the Al Ahli goal. Ismael Al Hammadi kept fighting right until the death with Adnan Al Beloshi doing his best to make an impact in the penalty area, but Al Ahli could not convert their possession advantage into that all-important goal and had to settle for a point.
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