Dubai: Shabab Al Ahli Dubai coach Mahdi Ali couldn’t help a rant at the post-match media meeting after his team caved in late to concede a 3-2 result to Al Wasl in the second leg semi-final of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Thursday.
“We speak about ethics and how sport is meant to make us better human beings. But tonight I didn’t see any of this. Unfortunately, we forgot about fair play in the process of going all out for victory,” Ali told media after his team’s shock result.
Al Wasl went clear on a 14th minute header from Abdullah Saleh, only to see Esmail Al Hammadi get the equaliser within two minutes. Despite being assured of going through to the final on the away goals rule, the visitors made it 2-1 when substitute Waleed Ambar placed the ball into an empty net in the 72nd minute. And that’s when the actual drama started unfolding as Abdul Rahman Ali was shown a red card as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) judged that the Al Wasl defender had intentionally brought down goalscorer Ambar on his follow-through.
Down to 10 men, the Cheetahs never gave up and defender Humaid Abdullah Abbas nudged in the equaliser with two minutes remaining following a swerving free kick from Ronaldo Mendes. The visitors had only to defend for the next two minutes of regulation period and the five minutes of injury time.
But egged on by the home fans, Al Wasl got a match-winner when Caio Canedo slammed in from the top of the box with one minute gone into extra time and hand the Cheetahs a memorable win and a meeting with Al Wahda in the final on March 29.
The third goal rattled the visitors and things got a bit out of hand when referee Hamad Ali Yousuf further reduced Al Wasl to nine when Khalil Khamis got a red card for a lunging tackle outside the sideline that felled Shabab Al Ahli Dubai coach Ali. The visiting coach was given necessary aid by the medical team and the match continued.
However, the on-field drama continued with Hassan Ebrahim headbutting Al Wasl striker Fabio de Lima to become the third player to see red on the night. “After what has happened tonight I didn’t even want to come and address you media. But I’ve come just out of respect for you. What has happened is all unwanted and unnecessary. This is the death of sport,” Ali rued.
A triumphant Rodolfo Arruabarrena was thrilled with the win. “For me it was a typical match between two teams who wanted to reach the final. I agree we didn’t have the speed and didn’t make use of spaces especially in the second half. We couldn’t make any impact,” he admitted.
“To play a final we have to analyse the problems we have and we have to find the answers. I am very happy to see my players not giving up until the end. This final is important for the ambitions of the club. We have time to carry out some corrections in our play and we will be ready for Al Wahda next week,” the Al Wasl coach added.
