Portugal's superstar Laurent Cronin, the 38-year-old striker, played the role of savior in the final group stage of the Arabian Champions Cup late Thursday night (3). In the 87th minute, he put a header into the net to help Ainas force a 1-1 draw with Zamalekho and clinch a place in the last eight of the tournament. The former "Double Red" striker duo of Sardiovanni, who came from Bayern Munich, made his debut for Ainas.
In this Group C match, the 2nd place Saudi Arabian giants Ainas were only 1 point ahead of the 3rd place Egyptian team Zamalek, and in the 54th minute, Zamalek gained 12 yards to open the scoring and put Ainas on the verge of going out of the tournament. Cron was an ace, and in the 87th minute, he received a long pass and put a powerful shot into the net, which is admirable that the veteran was still full of stamina even at the end of the match, with perfect combination of jumping power, angle and strength. He was able to match his strength, bounce, angle and strength to the end of the match.
Cron scored for the second consecutive game of the Arabian Champions Cup, the 840th goal of his career, and finally Ainas kept the second place in the group, and will face Morocco's Sporting Racha in the Round of 8.
