Al Ain qualify for 2018 AFC Champions League group stages

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Al Ain qualify for 2018 AFC Champions League group stages
Al Ain's Omar Abdulrahman is tackled by players from Bahrain's Malkiya.

Abu Dhabi - Berg, Caio net winners but injury to Abdulrahman and Barman end match on sour note

By Ashwani Kumar

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Published: Wed 31 Jan 2018, 8:28 PM

Last updated: Thu 1 Feb 2018, 11:16 PM

UAE club Al Ain beat Bahrain's Malkiya through two second-half goals to qualify for the 2018 AFC Champions League group stages. At Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, foreign legs Marcus Berg and Caio Fernandes scored as Al Ain became the fourth UAE club in the fray apart from Al Jazira, Al Wahda and Al Wasl.

Head coach Zoran Mamic was delighted with the result but the fixture ended on a sour note for Al Ain with injuries to Omar Abdulrahman and Ahmad Barman.

"I am happy that my team qualified to the group stage of ACL 2018 but so annoyed by the injuries of Ahmad Barman and Omar Abdulrahman."

The gravity of the injury can only be known after X-ray reports.

"I wish them speedy recovery and hope they rejoin the team shortly," the coach said.

In the first 20 minutes of the match, Omar gave a good account of himself with curling attempts into the goal. And the talisman clinched the Man of the Match award too.

The coach hailed Omar's performance on the night.

"Amoory is the best player in Asia and he is announced by the AFC to be Man of the Match despite him not in his best in the match."

When asked about not fielding striker Ahmad Khalil, he said: "Khalil has not played official matches during the past months and I did give him the chance to play in Al Ain's recent three matches. Therefore, I preferred to keep him on the bench."

Al Ain have now entered the group stage with Al Hilal, Esteghlal and Al Rayyan in Group D. Mamic said that even though Al Ain are ready for the ACL grind, the immediate focus is on the next Arabian Gulf League match. Al Ain top the table with 32 points.

"Absolutely, Al Ain's squad has the best players and they will be ready for all challenges. However, we are focusing at the moment on our coming match against Ajman."

Al Ain play Ajman at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Saturday.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com


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