AGL: Al Ahli held to goalless draw against Bani Yas

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  • Frustrated: Cosmin Olaroiu failed to get a win against Bani Yas Al Ahli.

    Al Ahli were unable to send off their coach, Cosmin Olaroiu, with a parting gift of three points as they were held to a goalless draw with Bani Yas.

    – Al Jazira edge Al Wasl in six-goal thriller

    Olaroiu will be leaving Ahli for around five weeks to guide Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup next month, with the Romanian’s coaching duties carried over by his second in command, Catalin Raducan, in his absence.

    The Red Knights were looking to capture a third victory on the trot, having beaten Al Wahda and Kalba in their previous two Arabian Gulf League outings, but couldn’t keep the momentum going as they fell flat against Bani Yas.

    Playing their final AGL game of the year, before the league goes on hiatus as the UAE national team fly to Australia for the Asian Cup, Ahli were hoping to enter the winter break as one of the top five teams in the standings, following a poor start to their title defence campaign.

    It took two threatening shots from Bani Yas’ Yousef Jaber to get Ahli on their feet, as the visitors sent out an early signal of intent.

    Chilean striker Carlos Munoz soon got the Ahli attack up and running, but despite skillfully beating the offside trap, his close range shot was easily blocked by Bani Yas ‘keeper Mohsin Al Hashmi.

    Salmeen Khamis almost opened the scoring for the hosts 21 minutes in when he headed a Luis Jimenez corner kick, but Al Hashmi reacted well to save it.

    Six minutes later, Jimenez – who was returning from a two-game suspension – provided the most dangerous Ahli attack of the opening half, firing a low strike which was just cleared by the other Jaber brother, Mohamed, who stepped in just in time before Ismail Al Hammadi could provide the tap-in.

    A slew of Bani Yas attacks came after the break including an ambitious back-heel from Denis Stracqualursi, which found the hands of Ahli custodian Ahmed Mahmoud ‘Dida’ in the 53rd minute.

    Grafite, who came on for Munoz after the break, unleashed a powerful shot from the left side in the 70th minute, but Al Hashmi was there for the catch.

    Moments later, Yousef Jaber fired a huge left-footer off the bounce but it was blocked, before Bandar Al Ahbabi forced Dida into another save with his drill down the right.

    Grafite set up Jimenez perfectly, 12 minutes from the whistle, but the Chilean’s effort was just wide.

    Yousef Jaber blasted a brilliant free kick in the dying moments but Dida rose to the occasion to make sure the hosts at least salvaged a point from the clash.

    "We wanted to follow up on our last two games and make it nine points from nine, but what can you say?" said a frustrated Dida after the match.

    "This was a strong game. We missed a lot of chances. We weren’t lucky."

    Ahli now lie sixth in the standings. Only one game remains in the league calendar this year – a postponed tie between Al Shabab and Al Ain, which will take place at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium tomorrow.

    The AGL return date is yet to be confirmed and will depend on when the UAE will conclude their Asian Cup campaign.

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