Abu Dhabi: A drained and ashen-faced Jesualdo Ferreira, the Al Sadd coach, insisted his side deserved to win Tuesday evening’s Asian Champions League play-off and claimed Al Jazira’s set-piece prowess had proved decisive.
Ferreira also reiterated his pre-match assertion that the winner-takes-all clash, which Al Jazira won 5-4 on penalties following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes, should have been a two-legged affair.
“I think we deserved to win this game,” said the 69-year-old Portuguese, after an incident-packed encounter at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium. “We were better in the first-half and our opponent was better in the second-half. It was very hard for both teams with extra time.
“I congratulate my players and I regret things finished like this. We were the better team. Our opponents were better at free-kicks, corners and penalties.”
Asked why Al Sadd’s performance had dipped in the second half after a strong opening which culminated in them taking a 23rd-minute lead through Hamza Senhadji, he replied: “They started with more motivation after the goal at the end of the first half. This is important. We had chances to win in the last minute, but they were more lucky than us. I cannot explain all things with luck. We have had a lot of problems in the last two months, it’s true.”
“But they [Al Jazira} are a good club, a strong team and we played here,” he added. “I don’t agree that [the play-off] is one game only. This is not fair, but they [Al Jazira] made it work. They pressed in the second half and scored in the last minute of the first half.
“That was important psychologically.”