Star team Ahli today has a chance to pick itself up and reconcile with disappointed fans, writes Inas Mazhar Egyptian star team Ahli has a chance to make up with disappointed fans today, when it plays off for fifth place against Adelaide United of Australia in Yokohama. The Asian champions had lost on Sunday 0-1 to Gamba Osaka in Tokyo. The disappointment came last Saturday, after Ahli scored its second goal against Patchuca of Mexico at the FIFA World Club Championship in Japan. To begin with, it seemed Ahli was doing extremely well. Egyptian fan Ahmed Abdel Salahein from Beni Suef jumped up in celebration when Ahli was still on top, before collapsing down on the floor. He died from a heart attack on his way to the hospital. He died from happiness -- and was as such spared watching Ahli humiliated 2-4 by the Mexicans. It really couldn't have been worse. Ahli's opening match was held at 7am Egyptian time, and as it was only broadcast on satellite television, coffee shops were filled, even though it was so early in the morning, with fans eager to watch the game. Egyptians endured the morning freeze as they watched Ahli win the first half of the match. But they were later deeply disappointed as Ahli lost total control of the game in the second half, effectively allowing their opponents to level the score and then score a victory at injury time. Reports from Japan allege the Ahli delegation spent a truly miserable night. And it was the same here in Egypt: even worse as it was the beginning of the day here, and fans were thrown into depression even before they'd made it to work or class. Saturday was the first day for many students back in school after the Bairam vacation, and schools had agreed class would start late at 9.30am, giving kids the chance to watch the game. But what a disappointment it was indeed! The question is will Ahli now manage to make up with fans today when they play for fifth place? After all, it may not be much but it's better than coming last. Objectively speaking, it was a remarkable fight back from Pachuca, which saw them come from two goals down to defeat the African champions Ahli at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to set up a semi-final clash with Liga de Quito. The game was scheduled for Wednesday evening. The Mexicans may have dominated possession and looked the better side in the opening 45 minutes, but they found themselves 2-0 behind at the break, largely due to Ahli's fantastic ability on the counterattack. Prompted by the pace and quick thinking of Mohamed Aboutrika, Mohamed Barakat and Flavio, the Egyptians only two meaningful forays into their opponent's half bore fruit. For his part Abou Treika opened the score in the 28th minute when he broke down the left side and put in a low cross in search of Flavio. Unfortunately for the Tuzos, the ball deflected off the leg of Fausto Pinto and past the wrong-footed Miguel Calero before crossing the line. As described on FIFA's official website, if Ahli's opener was a trifle fortunate, their second was a work of art. A long ball from the back was superbly controlled by Aboutrika who played the ball to Barakat. Rather than opting to shoot himself, he squared the ball to Flavio, who blasted it into the roof of the net to leave the Mexicans scratching their heads. In truth, they only had themselves to blame, as four minutes before the opener was scored, Bruno Marioni had a great opportunity to put his side ahead. Receiving the ball inside the area from the lively Damian Alvarez, he fired into the legs of Amir Abdelhamid with the rest of the goal at his mercy. The Pachuca players looked shaken as they walked off at half- time, but they were soon stirred into action, as some inspired changes from coach Enrique Meza put them back into the game. Off went the unfortunate Pinto and Jaime Correa and on came Juan Carlos Rojas and Luis Montes. Ahmed El-Sayed tripped Paul Aguilar on the edge of the box and from the resulting free-kick, Montes hit a curling left-footed shot which flew past Abdel Hamid and into the net. The substitutions had effectively changed the game completely. It was Pachuca who had their tails up as they sought an equaliser and they came close when Christian Jimenez's shot whistled just wide of the post. Minutes later, Aguilar found Marioni in an excellent position inside the box, but dallied over his shot, the ball got stuck at his feet and the danger was cleared. Seventeen minutes from time, Pachuca were level. For the second time in the game, Ahli gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position and from the resulting set-piece Jimenez curled the ball beyond the wall and past the keeper to provoke scenes of joyous celebration. The score remained at 2-2 until referee Ravshan Irmatov blew to signal the end of normal time -- and truth be told, when extra time began, there was only one side looking likely to score, and that was Pachuca. A move started and finished by the lively Alvarez in the 98th minute ultimately decided the game and left Ahli, which had boldly predicted a place in the final prior to the tournament, now facing the play-off for fifth place. Jimenez's second goal in the 110th minute only served to pour salt in the wounds of Ahli. The two coaches spoke to reporters after the match and of course no one was happier than Pachuca's Enrique Meza. "Being 2-0 down at half time seemed a bit unfair to me. We dominated but were still trailing. After making changes during the break we were able to get forward and penetrate more. That allowed us to hit back and overturn the deficit. Best of all, we never lost the belief that we could win," he said. Meza added that although his team learned a lot from their defeat last year, he was now keen to focus on the future. "The experience we had in 2007 already belongs to the past. We gained another chance this year and we took it. It's new history for us. Hopefully, we can keep winning to make history further," said Meza. A disappointed Ahli Coach Manuel Jose had his comments on the game. "We knew they wouldn't give us much space and that our game would have to be based on counter- attacking. And that's how we got our two goals. In the second half, however, I think fatigue and the pressure to win affected my players. We lost our shape and conceded a goal very early after the break, and that gave Pachuca hope," he said. "After that goal, Pachuca gathered momentum and started to fight back," lamented Jose, adding that Pachuca's self-belief was the key difference between the two teams. "It caused us to lose by two goals," he said. And it was clear that Pachuca's painful defeat in last year's FIFA Club World Cup inspired them to secure a semi-final place against South American champions Liga de Quito in this year's tournament. The Mexicans' FIFA Club World Cup debut last year saw them dominate possession but squander chances to lose 1-0 to Tunisia's Etoile Sahel in the quarter- final. This time, however, they stormed back from two goals down to beat Ahli, six-time African champions 4-2 on Saturday. "Last year, I wept, because we had thought we were destined to win that game. We were thinking about our next game," said Pachuca goalkeeper and skipper Miguel Calero. "It's natural that I wept after beating Ahli. We thought of nothing but this game this time round. Hopefully, we can keep winning." The opening match of the event last Thursday saw Adelaide United score a 2-1 victory over Oceania champions Waitakere United in Tokyo.
