Yokohama v Al Ain: Maverick keeper Khalid Essa key to UAE club's chances of ACL glory

Khalid Essa was downright. Defiant even.

Speaking after Al Ain had cast out Al Hilal from the Asian Champions League semi-final, with a certitude no doubt stiffened by his man-of-the-match award, the UAE goalkeeper used the moment to defend his position as steadfastly as he had protected his team’s goal.

“I would like to say, I know my performance tonight was good,” Essa said. “There have been down times, difficult times, but I have been working on restoring my level.

“In the times I was performing lower than usual there were claims and requests to take me out of the team, but during that period I was trusted by the coach, by the team management and by the staff.

“They gave me the confidence so that I could return to my usual performance and quality.”

Essa’s performance in Riyadh had certainly been quality. It had needed to be. Faced with Hilal’s relentless advance at Kingdom Arena, as the record four-time winners hunted a goal that would take the semi-final tie into extra time, Al Ain blockaded their goal and bit down on their gum shield.

As the last line of defence, Essa, their captain, was superb. He denied Michael when the Hilal winger surged through on goal, then again prevented the Brazilian’s near-post effort from nestling in the net, saving at full stretch.

With two minutes of the 99 remaining, Essa leapt to his left to keep out Ali Al Bulaihi’s point-blank header. Deservedly, he was named the game’s standout performer. His contribution in securing Al Ain’s place in the Champions League final, the club’s fourth but first in almost a decade, had been crucial.

Yet, as Essa himself reminded, it is not necessarily always as such. In the quarter-final, after Al Ain had stymied Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr at home –