Al Ain boss Zlatko Dalic has praised the mentality of champions which saw the Arabian Gulf League pacesetters strike at the death to see off Fujairah.
The holders appeared set to drop vital points after veteran midfielder Ibrahim Diaky’s early strike was levelled by forward Christophe Mandanne in the 72nd minute.
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But they refused to give up, South Korea star Lee Myung-joo’s deciding volley coming with just three minutes left on the clock.
“We have achieved a significant victory as the situation we faced was tough,” said the 49-year-old Croatian.
“We made the first goal and had several opportunities to strengthen our situation, but we did not take them as required. We had to make an early substitution (UAE left-back Mohammed Fayez) for the second game in a row, and the problems started showing immediately after the switch.
“Following the realisation Fujairah could gain a draw, we focused our strength on the offensive aspects until we were able to register and collect the three points.”
Opponents Fujairah again showed the vast improvement experienced this term, as they threatened to hamper the leaders.
Boss Ivan Hasek was convinced a share of the spoils would have been a fair outcome a week after his side ended Abel Braga’s miserable
Al Jazira return with a 4-0 humiliation.
He said: “We deserved to go out at the very least with a draw from this match. We played well in the game and we made a second performance in a row at a high level.”
Al Ain have set a fearsome pace in 2015-16, only dropping points twice in their 12 games with a 2-1 loss at hotly-tipped Al Wahda and 1-1 draw at Bani Yas. They have already surpassed their halfway tally of 30 points with one game to play and Dalic called for his troops to keep pushing when they visit Emirates Club on Friday.
He said: “We have 31 points and we have one match left in the first round of the league. Compared to last season, we finished the first round with 30 points.
“We find that our results are currently better than last year and I hope to complete the round with the same force.”
The only negative for Dalic was the concession of one more goal, which followed the two registered by bottom-placed Al Shaab in last weekend’s 4-2 win.
He said: “The fact is that Al Ain did not receive any goals in the face of our nearest rivals, where we beat (third-placed) Al Nasr 3-0 and (second-placed) Ahli with the same score. But we’ve met two of the bottom sides and this is not good for me.
“Therefore, I have called for the players to deal with all the games with the same amount of focus.”