Abu Dhabi: Al Ain may have rallied from a goal deficit twice to hold Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli to a 2-2 draw in the AFC Champions League Group C fixture on Tuesday, but coach Zoran Mamic was not that pleased with the performance.
Mamic felt that the result was too close for comfort and the contest could have gone either way.
“The clash may have been exciting and the draw in the end would have been good for the fans, but for me the outcome of the match was very close. I’m not happy some of the mistakes made by my players, especially in the backline apart from Esmail Ahmad, who gave lot of stability,” said Mamic, adding that he will be trying to make the most of the break that the team will be getting in the local league to develop the side.
“We have to do some major work in the break and rectify the errors we committed. We have two matches at home and one away. Al Ain should be better prepared for these matches especially against Al Ahli. We will have to double our efforts to qualify for the next stage,” added Mamic, who also said that it was a challenge to give players sufficient rest so that they can play to their full potential — and hence a few of the key players were taken out early or benched against Al Ahli.
Defender Ahmad said that the team simply weren’t good enough.
“During the first half of the play we did not show the required level and there were several errors. We did improve on it in the second half with help of the guidance from our coach. We had our chances, but we couldn’t convert those opportunities,” said Ahmad, adding that everyone will have to collectively work together and improve ahead of the next phase.
Al Ahli’s Swiss coach Christian Gross felt that his team was unlucky to miss out on a win despite playing the best match of their season.
“Luck wasn’t by our side. Twice we came really close to scoring. Once the framework came to the rescue off Omar Al Soma’s free-kick and again a foul on Soma inside the area was a clear penalty. And Al Ain goalkeeper (Khalid Eisa) showed high calibre and some of the saves he made should have been sure-shot goals,” said former Spurs boss Gross.
Al Ain, on five points, sit second in the group behind Al Ahli, who have seven. Zob Ahan from Iran are third on four.
