Newly crowned Arabian Gulf League (AGL) champions Al Ain’s ace Ghanaian forward Asamoah Gyan highlighted the keenness within the team to cement their place in the next round of the AFC Champions League with a win over Saudi outfit Al Shabab at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Al Ain have delayed their league celebrations with this key contest in mind and though a red carpet welcome awaits them on return, the players are well aware that there is no better way to celebrate than with a win in Riyadh.
“We need to collect the three points and qualify for the second phase,” said Gyan, adding that, though the rival team was strong, he and his teammates were ready.
“We are fully ready for the challenge and will approach the match in the positive way. We are a strong side and there is a lot of positive energy around the team right now and we will do our best to achieve this goal,” added Gyan, whose side have won one and drawn three matches and are currently in second spot in Group B behind Naft Tehran, who have seven points.
Al Shabab, who held Al Ain to a goalless draw, are currently placed at the bottom of the group with two points from their four matches and are virtually out but Gyan was of the view that they were not going to take their opponents lightly, especially in their own den.
“We don’t care about where they are on the points table and our focus is on our own game. The good thing is all the players are ready technically, physically and mentally. Everyone is in full readiness as anything can happen in the game,” said Gyan, who vowed that he would try his level best to get amongst the scorers.
“I do not know if I would score or not, but I always try to give my best in every game. God willing, if everything goes as per plans, I might score but the important aspect is that the team should win. Everyone expects me to score so I will seek to score,” said Gyan, who had been the top scorer in the AFC Champions League last season.
Defender Mohanad Salem Al Enazi was of the view that Al Shabab will be a different team altogether while playing at home and that Al Ain have to be on guard. “The level of the opposition team will be different and they will give it everything when they are playing in front of their fans. However, we all are high on morale and everyone is aware of the role they have to play for the entire 90 minutes.”