END OF THE ROAD

ABDULRAHMAN brothers Omar and Mohammed both found the back of the net in the second half as former champions Al Ain held a fighting El Jaish 2-2 in the second leg of the AFC Champions League semifinal and progressed to the final with a 5-3 aggregate score.

Omar, Jaish’s constant tormentor in Al Ain’s 3-1 first-leg win, struck in the 57th minute after playing a one-two with Brazilian midfielder Caio to give a big blow to Jaish’s comeback plans.

Brazilian striker Romarinho, who put up an impressive performance, netted twice, in the 67th and 80th, to rekindle the Soldiers’ hopes. But Mohammed, who came on as a 65th-minute substitute, netted the visitors’ second goal deep into stoppage time as Jaish poured forward in search of a third, which would have taken the game into extra time. 

After conceding a late third goal in the first leg, Jaish had to put up a near-perfect game, but Al Ain’s experience and overall quality showed throughout. Romarinho had a couple of chances early in the first half, but Al Ain took control of the match halfway through it. Jaish’s lanky goalkeeper Khalifa Abubaker, who was the culprit in conceding the third goal in the first leg’s injury time, made amends with an exceptional performance. 

He made three fine saves in as many minutes after the half-hour mark.

Khalifa reacted quickly to keep out two powerful attempts from Colombian forward Danilo Asprilla while the Jaish custodian also did well to thwart a clever chip by Amer Abdulrahman.

And once Omar scored, the game became lively. Jaish could have turned it around, had they been a little more precise in their passing in the middle. 

The return leg of the second semifinal between South Korean teams Jeonbuk Motors and FC Seoul will be played on Wednesday.