Jimenez's substitutions prevent Al-Wahda from touching the top of the league
Al-Wehda equalized against Al-Wasl in the final seconds.
Photography: Najeeb Mohamed
Al-Wehda coach, Spanish Manuel Jimenez, paid the price for a substitution he made during the match against his guest Al-Wasl the day before yesterday in the 14th round of the ADNOC Professional League, when he was leading 2-1, which was the result that would have given “Al-Annabi” the joint lead with Shabab Al-Ahly with 29 points. However, the team conceded two goals in two minutes, before Al-Wehda scored the equalizing goal 3-3 in the final moments.
Jimenez made his first substitution in the 63rd minute, when the match result was 1-1, by withdrawing Argentine midfielder Facundo Krosbsky and pushing striker Sebastian Tigali, and while the switch resulted in scoring the goal of progress 2-1 from Tigali himself, the turning point in the match was in the second substitution, which He almost caused Al-Annabi to lose, when the coach removed midfielder Tahnoun Al-Zaabi in the 78th minute, to allow the participation of Brazilian newcomer Matias Pereira, who has an offensive tendency from the depths.
And at a time when Al-Wahda was the best party in the confrontation and was moving steadily towards obtaining the full three points, but the side effects of the substitution were to create voids in the middle of the team, which was exploited by Al-Wasl coach, Argentine Juan Antonio Pizzi, by controlling the maneuvering area and succeeded in investing that without Little effort and scored two goals in two minutes «81 and 83.
It is the first time since Spaniard Jimenez took over Al Wahda team last October that he is satisfied with making two substitutions during a match, and he is known for his many substitutions.
Al-Wehda coach said, "I only made two substitutions because of the high level of the players. In general, we played a good match. Regarding the competition, I think there is a convergence between all the clubs in the ranking table."
On the other hand, the Argentine coach of Al Wasl, Pizzi, expressed his sadness at losing them as a result of winning the match in the last minutes, and said in the press conference: "Getting a point from Al Wahda Stadium is a positive result, but I am sad that the victory was lost in the last minutes."
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