Dubai: Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu still fancies his team’s chances of advancing to the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Champions League this season, despite a slow start to their Group D campaign.
Al Ahli fell to a 40th-minute goal by Farshad Ahmadzadeh as they lost 1-0 Tractor Sazi in Iran on Wednesday, while two weeks earlier the Dubai club were held to an exciting 3-3 draw at home by Saudi Arabian namesakes Al Ahli.
The UAE’s Al Ahli are now bottom of the group with just one point.
Despite Wednesday’s loss, Olaroiu thought his team created enough scoring chances to win the game, but also found that they surrendered ball possession all too easily.
“We didn’t deserve to lose the game. It was a difficult match and the Iranians played very strong against us,” Olaroiu said at the post-match conference in Tabriz.
“We did our best in this tough situation. We lost the ball in important areas of the field and that was where they took advantage from, but we still have chances to go to the next round.”
Olaroiu further added that playing conditions were not the best for the team from Dubai. “The atmosphere in the stadium made it difficult for us to play. However, the opportunities we created outnumbered the chances made by the home team,” he said.
Al Ahli’s third match will be at home against Nasaf of Uzbekistan on March 18.
