Abu Dhabi: Al Wahda performed well in patches, but their vulnerability in defence caught up with them again in their 2-2 draw against 10-man Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League Group ‘D’ fixture at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Tuesday — much to the ire of coach Javier Aguirre.
The Al Wahda coach said a “silly mistake” cost them the win when, against the run of play in the 69th minute, Omar Khrbin — left to run free — scored at the second attempt.
“For sure at this level you cannot make such errors. It is the second time that we have done that in this tournament. We have to do some analysis,” said Aguirre.
“Al Hilal players were with the ball always but our goalkeeper did well and then (Sebastian) Tagliabue scored and we tied the first half.
“In the second half, we played better after we made some changes in the team. Then we doubled the lead and I was calm but they scored. Thereafter we try to win the match (but) we almost lost the match,” Aguirre pondered — adding that his young players have to learn quickly how to play at this level.
“The young players have to get the experience and show they can stand up to these tough challenges. In the next match in Saudi, I hope we can put up a good show and not make the mistake we did.”
Aguirre added: “We still have three matches and there is still a small chance of making it to the next stage. There are 11 players who are in the national team squad and all from our academy and we should be proud about it. We just have to keep improving for these type of big matches.”
Hungarian star Balazs Dzsudzsak, who gave his side a 2-1 advantage in the second period, also echoed the same sentiments as his coach, saying: “It is a very hard pill to swallow as we lost the opportunity of claiming two points. In these matches, we have to fight all the way. This is Champions League and the game intensity is different. Again we made a mistake in the back and allowed them to come back. But we showed good spirit and now we have to look forward.”
Al Hilal manager Ramon Diaz said: “We scored at the start and took control of the whole first half. We lost a bit of concentration in the middle, momentarily, and that allowed Wahda to score the equaliser from a counter-attack.
“The second half was an even contest despite playing the last half-hour with a player less. Still we managed to match Wahda and were also able to create a few chances and we could have scored one or two more goals.”
