Dubai: Al Jazira coach Henk ten Cate wished Ahmad Khalil the best of luck for his Al Ain move, but wouldn’t go into the reasons why the striker didn’t succeed under him in Abu Dhabi.
Khalil, 26, had an initial loan move from Al Jazira to Al Ain denied on transfer deadline day last week due to salary cap rules. To get around this, the UAE player simply bought out the remainder of his contract and ended up joining Al Ain a week later on a free transfer.
It ended a torrid six months for him in the capital where, due to a pay dispute, he played just 27 minutes over two games since joining from Al Ahli over the summer.
“There’s not so much for me to comment on,” said Ten Cate, after his side’s 1-0 win over second division Kalba in the last 16 of the President’s Cup at Dubai Club Stadium in Al Aweer on Tuesday.
“The only thing I want to say is that I wish him the best of luck and success in Al Ain. I’ve known him for years,” added the Dutchman, who also coached Khalil briefly while at Al Ahli in 2010.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t play for us that much but I wish him the best in his career in all games except the one against us.”
Asked why it didn’t work out for Khalil at Al Jazira, he added: “That’s something between him and the club.”
Al Jazira snuck past Kalba in the cup thanks to a 75th minute header from substitute Ali Mabkhout. It came after Kalba’s Omar Mansouri hit the crossbar and had a clear call for penalty denied in the first half.
“It was a typical cup game with no good football and a lot of challenges in the field,” said Ten Cate. “It was a do or die game and we understood that. There were some very good chances that we should have scored, but I’m happy to make it through to the last eight. Hopefully we will play better in the next game, we need to if we want to continue. This was not our best game.”
Kalba coach Jorvan Vieira, who was overseeing his first game in charge of the minnows, having only arrived in the UAE on Sunday, said: “I don’t believe many coaches would have had the courage to take on Al Jazira in their first game. They would have stayed upstairs and taken over after this match. But if I’m afraid I would have stayed at home.
“I’m proud of my boys and what they tried to do, hopefully for our next match in the league we will have more time to prepare and apply the system. Football is about time and with time you can develop good work.”
In Tuesday’s other cup games, defending champions Al Wahda beat Emirates 2-1 at Al Ahli Stadium in Al Ghusais thanks to an 113th minute extra-time winner from Mohammad Al Shehi after Sebastian Saez cancelled out Mohammad Al Akbari’s 52nd minute opener on the hour. Sharjah also overturned Ajman 2-0 at Emirates Club in Ras Al Khaimah with first half goals from Wilton and Vander Vieira on 15 and 37 minutes.
