AFC Champions League: Al Rayyan 2-1 Al Ain

Doha April 09 (QNA) -: Jaralla Al Marri scored with four minutes remaining to earn Al Rayyan their first win of the 2013 AFC Champions League as the Qatari side saw off inaugural ACL champions Al Ain on Tuesday. The win ensures Al Rayyan remain in contention for a place in the knockout rounds of the tournament while Al Ain missed out on the opportunity to put pressure on Irans Esteghlal, group leaders at the start of the days play. Brazilian forward Nilmar (Nilmar Honorato da Silva gave Al Rayyan the lead just before the hour mark while Yousef Ahmed levelled the scores. However, just seconds after Alex Brosque hit the crossbar for Al Ain, Al Marri scored from close range to seal the win for his club. "We achieved an important win which got us back into contention as we have now four points in the group," said Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre. "We knew how to get back into the match, especially when Al Ain scored the equaliser at an important time in the match. "We had great difficulties in the first half and we had to find solutions in order to regain control of the game. We put in a better performance in the second half and scored from the chances that we had. We must concentrate on the next two matches." Al Ain had won the corresponding fixture between the two clubs last week in the United Arab Emirates and Cosmin Olarious side looked the most likely to strike first in the opening 45 minutes. Jires Kembo-Ekoko went close with his long-range effort after just four minutes while Omar Abdulrahman should have done better with his diving header in the 20th minute, but his goal-ward attempt was straight into the arms of Oumar Barry. Brosque then went close with a well-struck right foot effort after Abdulrahmans ball over the top unlocked the home defence, the shot flying just over the bar. Rodrigo Tabata carved out Al Rayyans best chance at the other end with three minutes remaining in the half when his free kick forced Mahmood Al Mas to take evasive action, diving at full stretch to push the ball away for a corner. In the 59th minute, however, Al Rayyan took the lead as Tabatas perfect pass sent Nilmar through and he rounded Al Mas before slotting into the goal. Al Ain, though, were back on level terms with 12 minutes remaining when Ahmed was unmarked as he rose to meet Abdulrahmans corner and, eight minutes later, the 2003 champions looked set to take the lead only for Brosques shot to clip the top of the crossbar. Almost immediately, Al Rayyan raced to the other end of the field. Tabata again played in Nilmar and, although his goal-bound effort was slowed by Al Mas outstretched arm, Al Marri was on hand to touch the ball over the line and secure the win for the Qataris. "We had two different performances in the match as we had a good performance in the opening period but things changed in the second half as the players were clearly tired and Al Rayyan managed to score two goals from three chances," said Al Ain coach Cosmin Olaroiu. "We had a heavy schedule as we played four tough matches in 11 days and this was clearly showing on the players. We had many chances but we couldnt score and we paid for these missed chances in the second half." (QNA)