Al Ain: Al Ain may have fallen short of making it to the final of AFC Champions League on Tuesday, but the team’s lionhearted performance warmed coach Zlatko Dalic’s heart.
“I have been with this team for seven months and we have reached the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. It is a great result. We wanted more, but it was not possible,” he said after the UAE club beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal 2-1 in the second leg but went down 4-2 on aggregate.
Dalic revealed that he introduced midfielders Mohammad Abdul Rahman and Ebrahim Diaky right from the start of the second session to get two more goals to keep their hopes alive but things didn’t click.
“We had our chance to get to the final in the first game in Riyadh and we were punished but we tried everything in this game. The players tried everything to win 3-0. I knew it was going to be hard job and in the first half we scored one goal early. To beat Al Hilal, you need to take the chances you get,” said Dalic, adding that his side took big risks in the second half.
“We had to be careful in the first half since if we conceded any, the game would be finished. I wanted to keep an open style and change two players at half-time, but we needed some luck. However, playing with 10 players against Al Hilal is not enough. When we conceded the goal I knew it was over,” said Dalic, whose side now meet Al Jazira in the Arabian Gulf League next.
“We spent a lot of energy and emotions in this game and it will be hard to recover the team for the league. It will not be easy to focus the team, but we have a big game with Al Jazira in four or five days,” felt Dalic.
Al Hilal coach Laurentiu Reghecampf was of the view that the semi-final victory would provide his side the much-needed boost ahead of the continental final.
“It was important we qualified for the final but also the team needed this experience as some of them are young and don’t have enough experience. I am happy to reach the final with this team and I think it is a great achievement,” said Reghecampf, who was relieved that his side achieved the target of reaching the finals.
“My players don’t have experience playing in semi-finals and finals, but age does not mean experience. I think there is no relation between age and experience. I will play with these players in the final as they are the best players.
“For us, reaching the final was the target for the club. We would like to play in the finals of all the competitions. We would like to win the league, the King’s Cup and the AFC Champions League.”
