Al Ain boss Zlatko Dalic chose to praise the character of his ailing side despite a last-gasp implosion which threatened their progression to the President’s Cup final.

The dethroned Arabian Gulf League champions were 2-0 ahead as last night’s scrappy semi-final against Bani Yas headed towards the final whistle. A pair of goals from forward Ishak Belfodil and centre midfielder Amer Abdulrahman then produced a stunning end to the 90 minutes, with South Korea international Lee Myung-joo saving the 2014 winners’ blushes with a composed finish during extra time.

“We were very aggressive and very compact for 90 minutes,” said 49-year-old Dalic, who will battle Al Jazira at Zayed Sports City next Sunday for the trophy. “But in two minutes we gave two goals away when everybody said it was over – but it is not until the last minute.

“My team showed a lot of character. All season, it has been a tough time for us.

“To finish the game was a tough job for us, but Inshallah it will be okay and we deserved to win.”

This shock collapse followed a disappointing 1-1 draw with Zob Ahan during their round-of-16 opener in the AFC Champions League, with the tricky decider coming in Iran on Wednesday.

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Opposite number Dr Abdullah Miser refused to wallow in misery about a match which, fleetingly, promised so much.

He said: “Don’t tell me hard luck, because this is football. My players played their heart out and were very good all throughout the match.”

The 54-year-old has revived a club going nowhere under predecessor Luis Garcia since his arrival from the UAE Under-23s in March. This was just a third loss in seven matches, and he hoped to be given a longer window to prove his worth next term.

He said: “I didn’t get lot of time with this club, but if we had more time I can get good results.”