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Al Ain's Asian dreams come to an end with a 3-0 loss to Seoul

 

The UAE Al Ain team dashed their hopes for qualifying to the 16 stage of the 2011 AFC Champions League after losing 3-0 to hosts Seoul of South Korea in round 5 encounter which was played this afternoon at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The winners finished the first session with a 2-0 lead and added the third goal after the break. The Koreans raised their tally to 10 points to stay on top of the table of Group "F" followed by Nagoya Grampus of Japan who collected the same balance of points after beating Hangzhou Greentown of China earlier in the day with a lone goal netted by Fujmoto in the 76th minute. The two winners of today's matches, Seoul and Nagoya Grampus, continued their successful march to secure a berth in the next phase irrespective of their last round games against Hangzhou and Al Ain respectively on May 11.

 Both Al Ain and Hangzhou squads are out of contention after collecting four points each from five matches.

Al Ain faced their Korean hosts with the reserve team after their Brazilian coach Alexander Gallo excluded all key players who are now conducting their training sessions at home ground to get ready for their crucial and decisive game against Dubai-based Al Ahli in their Etisalat Pro-League round 16 postponed tie scheduled for May 8 at Rashid Stadium. The Korean home team also played without some of their key players especially their striker Server Djeparov.

Al Wahda were also ejected from the 2011 AFC Champions League along with compatriots Al Jazira as both teams are currently staying at the bottom of their groups. Emirate club are the only team who are still in the heart of the continental competition with a narrow chance to make it and move into the 16 stage.

 The home team were the better side on the pitch from the start of the game. They pressed hard in the opening minutes losing a number of easy scoring chances thanks to the Al Ain's solid and successful defensive tactics. But under the continuous pressure, the visitors' defenders came to commit some severe blunders especially Mohanad Al Anzy and Mohammad Ayidh. The Korean efforts paid dividends when Jo Yohan found the back of the net with a strong volley capitalizing on a defensive error only 16 minutes into the match. The visitors replied with some good attempts via Hadaf Al Amri, Bander Mohammad and Mohammad Abdul Rahman but they lost all the chances due to the poor final touch. Mohammad Abdul Rahman squandered a valuable sitter off Shihab Ahmad's perfect through pass in the 22nd minute. Hadaf also sent a severe shot for the Korean keeper to save brilliantly four minutes later.

The hosts' continuous work yielded a second goal when Dejan Damjanovic headed home the ball crossed by his teammate Yioung Liyan from the left flank four minutes before the break.

Al Ain's Brazilian coach Alexander Gallo brought on striker Abdul Aziz Fayez in the second half to replace midfielder Shihab Ahmad so as to give more power to the front line. Khalid Abdul Rahman came close to reduce the deficit five minutes after the break but his volley missed the target after being deflected by a defender to a corner. Substitute Abdul Aziz Fayez also missed a golden chance when he failed to drive the ball into the open net in the 62nd minute.

Dejan Damjanovic made things difficult for the visiting team when he headed home the third goal in the 72nd minute. Al Ain created some good opportunities afterwards but they failed to score to end the game with a 3-0 victory for the Korean side.