Dubai: Al Ain coach Zoran Mamic blasted his team after they dropped vital points against struggling Shabab Al Ahli Dubai in 14th round action of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) late on Friday.
Tied goalless at the end of the first half, visiting Al Ain took the lead in the 66th minute through a Marcus Berg goal when the Swedish striker turned his marker and curled in a left-footer, while lanky Saeed Jassim came off the bench to equalise in the 77th minute when he nodded in an Abdul Aziz Haikal cross to earn a crucial point for the home side.
The result changed nothing with Al Ain managing to stay at the top of the standings with 32 points and an unbeaten record so far, while the former champions from Dubai remained stuck in fifth taking their tally to 17. Al Ain have nine wins and five draws in their unbeaten record so far, while Shabab Al Ahli Dubai have three wins and losses and a run of eight drawn encounters.
“The match was a tale of two different halves. Both teams were not good in the first half even though we had a better part of the possession. I think this was one of the worst first half from my team. But we responded well in the second half and we scored and then controlled the game,” Mamic told media at the post-match conference.
“But then we conceded a goal, and that was when one of my players was too busy trying to convince an Al Ahli player to put the ball out as one of their players was lying injured on the pitch. I can’t blame anyone as it is our player’s fault as he should have played to the referee’s whistle instead of switching off,” he fumed.
Al Ain had been on a goalscoring spree having secured a 6-2 drubbing of Hatta in their last round before a 3-1 win against former leaders Al Wasl in Round 12. “I couldn’t understand our performance. We looked very tired from the start. Maybe we made a mistake while training. But we did well in the second half and we deserved to win,” Mamic insisted.
“I think we clearly lost two points tonight. The goal [equaliser] was a stupid thing from my team. Of course, nothing changes for us except the fact that we have another eight games and we’ve got to win all these. We need to be more concentrated than tonight. My team will continue playing with the same intensity and intent,” he added.
In Sunday’s action, Al Dhafra will host second-placed Al Wahda in the early match while Sharjah will make the short journey for their match against third-placed Al Wasl at 8pm.
