Abu Dhabi: ‘The Boss’ Al Ain was clearly found wanting in their AFC Champions League Round-of-16 first leg contest against Qatar’s Al Duhail on Tuesday. The 4-2 loss has put the purple brigade in a fix going into the return leg in Doha on May 15, and the only way they can now qualify for the quarters is by beating Al Duhail by at least three goals.
Coach Zoran Mamic and his boys had clearly erred in reading the strength of Duhail, who were coming into the contest unbeaten and as the best side from this zone. A dejected-looking Mamic accepted in the post-match press briefing that his team was found wanting. “We did not have the focus today and we made a series of mistakes that resulted in a heavy loss. The opponents were better than us in the game and didn’t allow us to play our usual game,” said Mamic, adding: “We started off slowly and our performance improved only after 60 minutes. This is football and it is full of surprises. We have to analyse and study the reasons for this setback and then restore our focus and confidence in ourselves and our abilities. Though the task is not easy, everything is possible in football.”
The absence of Egyptian midfielder Hussain El Shahat and defender Mohannad Salem also hurt Al Ain immensely in the contest.
Mamic’s ploy to use his bench-strength late in the contest was also questionable. The two goals that came for Al Ain was immediately after he brought in Ahmad Khalil in the 59th minute and Ebrahim Diaky in the 85th minute.
Some of the action from the Al Ain players’ behaviour — although in the heat of the moment — yielded nothing but more harm. Brazilian striker Caio further weakened the side going into the crucial second leg by pocketing a needless red card for a sudden rush of blood during injury time.
Coach Mamic accepted that he will have a tough task filling the void left by Caio in the do-or-die away outing.
Playmaker Omar Abdul Rahman was also seen losing his cool at times and was lucky to escape with a yellow card for pushing a Al Duhail player by his chin. “Shahat has had a significant influence on the team’s performance and that also affected us today. Caio will miss the next contest and in his absence the team will have to work lot harder,” asserted Mamic.
