Dubai: Al Wasl coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena has admitted that his side will have to seek huge improvements if they are to aspire to go one better than last season.
Runners-up to Al Jazira at the end of last season, Al Wasl had to dig in deep for a 3-2 win against Dibba in their Arabian Gulf Cup opener on home turf late on Friday.
Up early following a second minute strike from Hassan Mohammad, Al Wasl had to rely on a Caio Canedo penalty (53rd minute) a Fabio De Lima winner three minutes from the final whistle to offset a Jociel Ferreira da Silva [Ciel] brace for full points in the Group A encounter.
Content with the three points and a winning start to the season, Arruabarrena was all praise for his team, who he feels needs to improve and develop further if they are to be among serious contenders for silverware this season.
“Ultimately it is the three points and the winning start that matters to us,” Arruabarrena told media.
“There is no doubt in our mind that we need to keep on improving our mistakes and evolving into a much stronger unit with each match. Maybe we were a bit nervous as it was our first competitive match or the heat got to us. But this is a team that has to improve,” he added.
Dibba coach Paulo Comelli felt his team did not deserve to lose as they had given a good account of themselves while matching a more fancied opponent. “We were prepared for a close match and we did well to get back even though we were down by an early goal. In the second half we showed what we were capable of. Perhaps we were not concentrated in the end while conceding two goals. But it is definitely a good start for us this season,” Comelli said.
Despite the slow start, Arruabarrena was hopeful for the season with their Arabian Gulf League (AGL) opener against Al Ain next Saturday. “This is a normal situation with any team, but we are happy with the capacity of the team to fight back and get a favourable result,” he said.
