Asamoah Gyan tasted defeat in his first competitive match of the season as Al Ain crashed to a penalty shootout defeat to Al Ahli in the UAE Super Cup on Friday.
The Ghana captain had recovered from a minor knock to lead the attack for the Pro League champions in the tension-packed game played at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Gyan lasted the entire duration to prove his fitness ahead of his trip to Ghana to join the Black Stars camp for the crucial 2014 World Cup qualifier against Zambia.
The Black Stars captain stepped up first during to hand his side the lead in the penalty shootouts after the game had ended goalless in after regulation time.
Luis Jiminez wasted his first kick for Al Ahli to hand the advantage to the Boss who couldn’t seize the advantage as darling boy Omar Abdulrahman wasted his kick.
Ahli capitalized on the opportunity as they converted their next three kicks through Ciel, Hugo Viana and Abdulaziz Sanquor while Al Ain wasted two vital kicks.
Al Ahli with their ‘traitor’ manager from Al Ain Cosmin Olariou thus clinched the first silverware of the season but more importantly handed the bragging rights to their fans ahead of what is expected to be a keenly competitive battle for the Premier League title.