I attribute the loss of Al-Ahly youth to not taking advantage of many opportunities

Jardim: The Sharjah team played a strategy of wasting time and deflecting balls

Shabab Al-Ahly lost 0-2 from Sharjah the day before yesterday.

Photography: Osama Abu Ghanem

Al-Ahly youth coach, Portuguese Leonardo Jardim, confirmed that he is proud of the performance of the "Dubai Knights" against Sharjah, despite the loss with two goals without a response, the day before yesterday, at the end of the first round matches of the ADNOC Professional League, pointing out that "(the king) played a strategy of wasting time. And scattering balls.”

Jardim said in a press conference: “We did not play the first 20 minutes of the match the way we wanted, before the performance improved in general and we played as a big team, while the opponent relied on keeping the ball away, wasting time and playing with a defensive strategy.”

He added: “I am interested in the public seeing the team in the way it likes, and that we appear well, and this is what we did in 70 minutes after the not so good start, and we forced Sharjah to waste its players time and push the ball forward, while the opponent in the second half had nothing but an attack. One, he scored the second goal.

He continued, "I spoke to the players after the match, and I assured them that I am proud of them, and that if we continue to play in this way, we will do better."

He considered that his team lost because of not taking advantage of many opportunities, and explained: "We played well after we received the first goal, and we controlled the match, and we built an ideal attack, and we got a lot of opportunities, but we did not take advantage of them properly."

He concluded, "There is no doubt that with the success of the matches, the performance will improve."

Cosmin: We will see in the future if Sharjah will compete for the league

Sharjah coach Cosmin praised his team's performance, expressing his happiness with the 2-0 victory over Shabab Al-Ahly, and its first three points, while stressing that the team's return in the upcoming matches will reveal its chances of competing for the title in the future.

After the match, Kuzmin said in the press conference: "I am very happy with the players' response, their fighting spirit, and their determination to give their best, crowning all of this by winning the first round of the league away from their land."

Regarding his team's chances of competing for the title, he said: "We have to do our full job as professionals, and deal with the matches gradually, and then we will see what happens in the future."

He pointed out that the players' performance declined in the second half is normal, due to the high temperature, indicating that the technical staff outside the stadium was affected by the weather, so it is natural that it will be more difficult for the players on the field. 

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news