Olaroiu relieved after ‘luckiest win of season’
Al Ahli manager pleased with full points against Al Nasr to stay in contention in AGL
Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu was a relieved man after his side snatched full points against Al Nasr to keep themselves on the tail of leaders Al Ain at the end of the eleventh round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL).
Sloppy at most times in their possession and passing, Al Ahli scored two goals towards the end to secure full points against cross-city rivals Al Nasr on Friday night. The two sides were tied 1-1 at half-time with the home side taking the lead in the 16th minute from a Moussa Sow goal, with Al Nasr equalising in the 36th minute through Nilmar.
Al Ahli looked marginally better in the second-half and took the lead through a Walid Abbas goal in the 67th minute while the prolific Rodrigo Lima put the issue beyond doubt with a dainty chip over an advancing Ahmad Shambieh in the 73rd minute.
Earlier in the day, Al Ain had maintained their leadership at the top with a 4-2 win over Al Shaab to continue leading the standings with 28 points.
Al Ahli continue their chase with 24 points and Al Nasr remain in third with 21.
“Honestly, this is the most lucky win for us from the beginning of this season,” Olaroiu told media.
“We didn’t play the way we wanted. What we spoke inside the dressing room was different from what we did on the ground. Fortunately, we scored at the right time and we did a good job in defending,” he added.
The main reason for this slip from the Red Knights is the fatigue factor that has crept in following their laborious campaigns at domestic and continental levels, he believes. “It has been a difficult period for us and the players are very tired. They don’t have any reaction and this leads them to make silly mistakes. There is very little I can do,” Olaroiu said.
“I will try my best all the time, but sometimes I have to be fair and know that they too have their limitations,” he shrugged.
Drastic improvement
Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic, meanwhile, called for a drastic improvement from his side if they are to be genuine contenders for the title. “We should have taken the chances that came our way, but we did not. In such high-level games it is the small details that matter, and we did not pay attention to the minor things that we needed to do and we paid the price,” Jovanovic admitted.
“Surely we are disappointed with the result, but we need to improve a lot in the upcoming games,” he added.
“We need to make a greater effort on the pitch. We need to play like a real team, like a serious team that wants to play serious football. Playing against big teams like Al Ain and Al Ahli all things boil down to the small details, and we cannot afford to make such mistakes.”