Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic has urged his team to get on the frontfoot and not just rest on their two-goal advantage, ahead of today’s AFC Champions League quarter-final decider at Al Ittihad.
The Boss impressed during last Tuesday’s opener, a fast-paced display being rewarded with secondhalf strikes from Ismail Ahmed and 11-goal tournament top scorer Asamoah Gyan.
The result put them on the cusp of claiming their first last-four spot since 2005 but there will be no complacency in Saudi Arabia, according to the Croatian.
“We finished the first leg with a positive result and we will try our best to have another impressive performance tomorrow,” said Dalic.
“We want to score and get a good result while our opponents will also try to score to level the result.
“We showed a good attacking display in the first leg and we will try to score in order to strengthen our chance to advance to the semifinals.”
The 2003 ACL winner’s mission has been complicated by the late decision on Sunday to move the fixture to Mecca’s King Abdul Aziz Stadium, with Asian Football Confederation match commisioner Gautam Kar agreeing to Ittihad’s request that freshly-opened King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah was in no condition to play host.
Al Ain unsuccesfully tried to move their base to Ta’if in the wake of the call, as non-Muslim players would not be able to make the journey directly from Jeddah through the holy city and on to the ground. The failure to secure alternative accomodation means they now face a one-and-a-half-hour diversion to reach the Abdul Aziz.
There will be no Ittihad supporters in attendance tonight, after the AFC rejected the Saudi club’s appeal against a ban for their supporters attending the tie following disruption in the round of 16.
Dalic insisted the situation would not be a distraction.
“Our team is ready for the match and we will try our best to have our usual performance,” the 47-year-old said. “We know how important Al Ittihad’s fans are for their team, but what I care for most is my team and our preparations to have good match.
“I have confidence that the players will have another good performance tomorrow.”
“I already talked that I do not have a comment on the decision to deprive an opponent of the fans. We have played in Iran last season in front of 60,000 spectators and we went out of the stadium with a positive outcome.
“Personally, I have a good knowledge of the importance of the presence of the audience, and I know the influential role of the audience of Ittihad.”
Al Ain defender Mohammed Ahmad, added: “We already forgot the first leg and our aim is to score tomorrow in order to make things harder for our opponents.
“Our target is to win and qualify and we will handle the match as any other regular match.”
Scorer Ahmed has received criticism from the Ittihad fans since the first leg, after celebrating his goal vigorously in front of them, but the UAE international centre-back insisted he meant no offence with the gesture.
He said: “Maybe some interpreted my reaction after the first goal wrong, because I did not mean to offend the masses of Ittihad. “I do not wish to justify the reaction of purpose and joy.”
Al Ain fell to a 2-1 defeat during March’s group-stage meeting with Ittihad at Abdul Azziz, extending a run of consecutive ACL defeats in Saudi to seven matches. They have also been eliminated twice at the quarter-final stage, in 2004 and 2006.
Dalic has a full squad to choose from against Ittihad, with midfielder Mohammed Fawzi travelling despite picking up an ankle ligament injury making a clearance in last week’s meeting.
