Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Dubai: Ismail Al Hammadi scored his second goal of the night with 11 minutes remaining as 10-man United Arab Emirates champions Al Ahli equalised on three separate occasions to claim an entertaining 3-3 draw with Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.
Brazilian Osvaldo, inside the first minute of the Group D opener at Rashid Stadium, Hussain Al Moqahwi and captain Taiseer Al Jassam all scored for the visitors to hand the play-off qualifiers the lead.
But with Ahmed Khalil also netting for the home side despite the second half dismissal of captain Luis Jimenez, the spoils were shared to leave Uzbekistan’s Nasaf clear at the top of the table after they had earlier beat Iran’s Tractorsazi Tabriz 2-1 at home.
Match reaction: Gross satisfied with Al Ahli's share of spoils
The visitors enjoyed the ideal start as goalkeeper Majed Naser failed to connect with Abdulaziz Haikal’s back-pass, allowing the ball to bounce under his foot just inside the edge of the penalty area, and Osvaldo was alert to the situation and beat the recovering custodian to stab home from under the crossbar inside the first minute.
UAE’s Al Ahli, though, soon recovered and after flashing an effort across the face of goal a minute earlier, Al Hammadi spun away from defender Mohammed Aman on the edge of the penalty area from Ahmed Khalil’s pass before rifling emphatically past goalkeeper Abdullah Al Maiouf.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, though, regained the lead four minutes before half-time as Al Moqahwi was left unmarked on the edge of the six yard area to head home Osvaldo’s cross.
But there was still time for the home side to hit back before half-time as Jimenez’s cross hit defender Amiri Kurdy and the ball dropped at the feet of Khalil and the striker swept home from close range.
Both sides started the second half with attacking intent and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli took the lead for a third time as Al Jassam charged into the area after picking the ball up 30 yards from goal before beating Naser with an angled strike low at his near post.
Majed, though, kept the home side within touching distance with 20 minutes remaining as the goalkeeper acrobatically pushed Al Moqahwi’s close range volley away to safety.
But the Emirati side’s chances of a comeback were dealt a blow with 16 minutes remaining as Chile midfielder Jimenez was shown a straight red card for a late foul on Osvaldo.
The home side, though, hit back just five minutes later as the ball broke kindly for Al Hammadi inside the penalty area and the striker netted his second of the night with covering defender Mohamed Abdelshafi only able to divert the shot into the roof of the net.
Photo: WSG