Dubai: Cosmin Olaroiu was left with mixed emotions after seeing his Al Ahli side book their place in the final of the 2015 AFC Champions League thanks to a late winner from Korea Republic’s Kwon Kyung-won at Rashid Stadium on Tuesday.
Kwon’s strike topped off a remarkable game as Al Ahli ran out 3-2 winners on the night to secure a 4-3 aggregate win over the two-time Asian Club Championship winners, but for the Romanian coach who spent two years working with the Riyadh-based side it was a challenging evening.
“It’s qualification, but for me it’s a little bit difficult because against Hilal one eye cries and one eye is happy,” said Olaroiu, who was with the Saudi giants from 2007 to 2009.
“Of course I’m happy mostly for my players, they are heroes for what they have done. Nobody gave them a chance and they are in the final and I told them they don’t have to stop here.”
Al Ahli went into the game with a slender advantage following the 1-1 draw in Riyadh in the first leg and by the end of the first half it appeared the Dubai-based side had sealed their spot in the final thanks to goals from Lima and Everton Ribeiro.
But Al Hilal came storming back with two goals inside the first 20 minutes of the second half, with Ailton halving the deficit before Carlos Eduardo’s long-range drive levelled the scores on the evening and put the Saudis in front on away goals.
The drama, though, continued right into stoppage time when Kwon struck from just inside the penalty area with a deflected effort after the Al Hilal defence failed to clear a free kick, to send the home fans delirious and Al Ahli into their first-ever AFC Champions League final.
“In the first half we dominated totally, we created chances we scored two goals and we controlled the game,” said Olaroiu.
“In the second half, we thought it was easy and that we had qualified. Then we conceded the first goal and then for 15 minutes we panicked and lost control.
“Al Hilal took control and they drew but the mood in the AFC Champions League is to fight. We created two situations and we scored in the last minute. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck in football and this time it was on our side.
“I think from what happened over the two games we deserved to qualify and my players deserve the congratulations in the way they played and the way they fought. They don’t give up and they deserve to have the best performance in the club’s history in this kind of AFC Champions League competition.”
Al Ahli will now face either Guangzhou Evergrande or Gamba Osaka in the final, with the first leg to be played in Dubai on November 7 and the return two weeks later.
“We are going to try our best to make the dream real,” said Olaroiu. “This is what we can tell you. Of course in any competition you have difficult experiences but in throughout this competion - from the beginning until now - we have played well and in the group we didn’t lose any games.
“Away, we have been scoring and we know how to play in this kind of competition. Even though we don’t have big experience, we compensate with good attitude and effort.”
STOPPAGE-TIME WINNER SEES AL AHLI ADVANCE TO ACL FINAL
Dubai: Kwon Kyung-won’s strike four minutes into stoppage time earned Al Ahli of the United Arab Emirates their first-ever trip to the final of the AFC Champions League in dramatic fashion as the Dubai-based club secured a dramatic 3-2 win on the night and a 4-3 aggregate win over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal on Tuesday.
The Korea Republic defender struck from just inside the area with a deflected effort to cap a remarkable game that saw the Emiratis take a two-goal lead into the half-time break only for Al Hilal to claw themselves level.
The Saudis looked set to have booked their place in the final against either Guangzhou Evergrande or Gamba Osaka until Kwon made himself the hero after the Al Hilal defence failed to clear a late set-piece and the ball nestled in the back of the net.
Goals from Ailton and Carlos Eduardo had seen Al Hilal claw back a two-goal deficit from the first half after Lima and Everton Ribeiro had built on Al Ahli’s slender away goals advantage from the first leg.
At half-time, though, the Saudi club looked to be heading for the exit after a flat opening 45 minutes during which Al Ahli took full advantage of their goal scoring opportunities.
Neither side asserted themselves in the cagey opening, with veteran Al Hilal midfielder Saud Kariri’s desperate effort from the edge of the Al Ahli area looping well wide, but by the 17th minute the hosts had taken the lead.
Habib Al Fardan’s pass sliced open the Al Hilal backline, inviting Ahmed Khalil to run into space before the UAE international striker cut back and curled an exquisite low cross towards the far post and Lima fired the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
Four minutes later, Khalil could have doubled his side’s lead only for Al Sdairy to block his goal-bound shot while just after the half hour mark Lima saw his effort pushed to safety by the Saudi goalkeeper.
With three minutes remaining in the half, Al Hilal should have pulled level as Yasir Al Shahrani fizzed his low cross towards the far post from the right, but Ailton narrowly missed connecting on the slide.
It was to prove a costly miss as, on the stroke of half time, Al Ahli doubled their advantage when Everton Ribeiro latched on to Ismail Al Hammadi’s lofted ball into the area to lift his effort over Al Sdairy to score.
AFC Player of the Year Nassir Al Shamrani came on at the start of the second half as Al Hilal coach Georgios Donis sought a way past the Al Ahli back line and, within six minutes, the Saudis had reduced the deficit when Ailton scored on the turn to finish off a fine move started by Carlos Eduardo on the left and featuring a deft flick by Kariri.
By the 64th minute Al Hilal were level on the night and ahead – by virtue of the away goals rule – for the first time over the two legs when Carlos Eduardo unleashed a right-foot thunderbolt from 30 yards that goalkeeper Ahmed Mahmood could only reach with his fingertips before it arrowed into the top corner.
There was still time for both sides to threaten more goals; Lima pulled his effort wide 10 minutes from time before Everton Ribeiro headed over the bar just seconds later, but the drama came four minutes into the five minutes of added time as Kwon struck to ensure Al Ahli became the first club from the UAE to reach the final since Al Ain, inaugural ACL winners in 2003, reached the tournament decider for a second time in 2005.
Al Ahli will host the first leg of the 2015 final in Dubai’s Rashid Stadium on November 7, when they will face China’s Guangzhou Evergrande. The return will be played on November 21.
Al Ahli chairman Al Naboodah says club’s ambition will not end with Asian Champions League semi-final
DUBAI // Abdullah Al Naboodah, the Al Ahli chairman, says progression to the Asian Champions League final is reward for the long-term plans put in place by the club four years ago.
On Tuesday, the Dubai side qualified for the continental competition’s showpiece for the first time in their history, defeating Al Hilal 3-2 at the Rashid Stadium to seal the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate. Kwon Kyung-won’s injury-time goal proved decisive after Ahli had earlier surrendered a two-goal lead.
During Al Naboodah’s tenure, the club have won the 2013/14 Arabian Gulf League – their first top-flight title in five years – the 2012 and 2014 Etisalat Cups and the 2013 President’s Cup.
Now, focus shifts to the Champions League crown, with Ahli to play Guangzhou Evergrande, the Chinese side who lifted the trophy two years ago, over two legs next month.
“I never lost hope in the players, even in the second half, which was tough on them,” said Al Naboodah, who received congratulatory phone calls from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Ahli president.
“After all, the club’s motto is to fight until the end, and four years ago it had set a plan to achieve a number of championships.
“The club won all the local championships, but failed to qualify for last season’s Asian Champions League by one point. We are happy with qualification, but from this point on, we should set our mind on the final.
“This qualification is an achievement for Al Ahli as it is a first in our history, but our ambitions do not end here. There is still an important milestone awaiting us – the title – and we will not stop until we get there.
“We should step up our efforts to win the championship and honour all of the UAE, whose banner we now play under.”
Ahmed Khalil, the Ahli captain who has scored six goals en route to the final, thanked the club board for their support, adding: “Our qualification to the final is our payback for the great efforts that were made to lead us to this point.”
Results & fixtures
Semi-finals
• Al Hilal 1 Al Ahli 1
• Al Ahli 3 Al Hilal 2
• Guangzhou Evergrande 2 Gamba Osaka 1
• G Osaka 0 G Evergrande 0
Finals
• November 7 – Al Ahli v Guangzhou Evergrande
• November 21 – Al Ahli v Guangzhou Evergrande
(times to be decided)
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