Dubai: Al Ahli assistant coach saluted the diehard attitude of his team following their last-gasp 1-0 win against Sharjah in eleventh round action of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) late on Friday.

With the match heading towards a goalless draw, it was promising youngster Saeed Jasem who came to the rescue for Cosmin Olaroiu — banished from the touchline in the final minute after the match-winner had been scored — when the lanky player intervened on a goalward bound grounder from Khamis Esmail and placed past the outstretched arms of Mohammad Yousuf on the home goal.

Al Ahli’s assistant coach Catalin Raducan, who came in place of the suspended Olaroiu, admitted his side was not up to the mark against Sharjah. However, he was pleased with the three points that resulted and kept the Red Knights on course for defending their title.

“Of course, we were not good today, but finally we won and that is what matters,” Catalin told media after the match.

“Definitely, this is not our best performance in the league, and we are happy that Sharjah really tried to get a win. We expect the results will get better as the league progresses,” he confided.

Catalin explained that the Red Knights have been suffering this season due to the series of injuries to key players in the squad. Among these are main strikers Asamoah Gyan, Rodrigo Lima and more recently Ahmad Khalil. “We have too many injuries, but that is no excuse for this sort of performance. Probably, the most affected is our defence. So when we return with full points after such a tough game then we have every reason to be pleased,” Catalin said.

Possibly, the biggest consolation for their next match will be the return of striker Khalil along with their sturdy midfielder Kwon Kwon Kyung-won from South Korea. “We are not going through the best of times and there are no specific reasons why there are so many injuries among our players. But we hope we can get past this and keep on fighting for the title,” Catalin added.

Sharjah coach Giorgos Donis was disappointed with the anti-climax of losing at least one point following the last-minute goal. “One last minute and we put our guard down in the defence,” he rued.

“I have been in football too long to feel sad about such a result. There are a few positives that we can take from the game and I would rather look at those than think about what could have happened during the match,” he added.

RESULTS

Al Wasl 8 Dibba 0

Al Dhafra 0 Al Shabab 3

Kalba 2 Emirates 1

Bani Yas 0 Al Nasr 3

Al Jazira 1 Hatta 0

Sharjah 0 Al Ahli 1

Al Wahda 1 Al Ain 1