Dubai: Al Wasl coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena is giving his players no time to celebrate their big win over city-rivals Shabab Al Ahli Dubai while stressing that the job is just half done yet.
The Cheetahs scored two goals within a minute midway through the first half and then added a third in the second to secure a 3-0 win against the visitors and maintain their position at the top of the 12-team standings at the end of the first round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL).
Fabio De Lima and Ronaldo Mendes scored in the 24th and 25th minute as the home team went in with a 2-0 half-time lead. Anthony Caceres then sent in a perfect free kick over the Shabab Al Ahli Dubai wall in the 72nd minute to pocket full points.
“We played a great match and we were the better team. We got our chances and we took advantage of the mistakes that they made. Congratulations to all for the three points, but from tomorrow we start thinking about the next match before us,” Arruabarrena stressed at the post-match conference.
“We wanted to be in the top spot at the end of the first round of the league and the important thing is that we have achieved this goal. Our job is perhaps only half done. We have to also remember that we still have the second round to play where we will be up against stronger teams as well as teams with much bigger budgets,” he added.
“Before the year ends, we still have to play three matches — two in the Arabian Gulf Cup and one in the President’s Cup — and we need to first think about winning all these so that we can finish the year properly,” he stressed.
Friday’s win enabled Al Wasl to continue at the top of the AGL standings alongside Al Ain with 25 points each. Al Wahda remained in third with 20 points as their match against Al Jazira could not be played as The Pride of Abu Dhabi are currently involved in the ongoing 2017 Fifa Club World Cup.
Al Wasl and Al Ain have a near identical unbeaten record of seven wins and four draws. The Cheetahs’ coach was left ruing valuable dropped points especially against teams such as Ajman and Hatta. “Yes, we did learn from our mistakes. As a former player and now as a coach I am aware of this sort of situation where I really don’t have any control of what happens on the pitch. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai made mistakes tonight, and we could do the same in the next game as mistakes can happen any time and with any team. After those two drawn matches [against Ajman and Hatta] I told my players to keep calm even though we were ahead by two goals, and they did so,” Arruabarrena reflected.
With the Argentinian taking charge at Al Wasl last season, The Cheetahs had never managed to win against Shabab Al Ahli Dubai with Cosmin Olaroiu as coach. Last season the two drew goalless in both their AGL encounters, and earlier this year the two clubs played out a 2-2 draw in the Arabian Gulf Cup.
“Yes we couldn’t win with Cosmin as the coach as the level of both teams in those three matches was the same. The good thing is that we didn’t lose to them. Now it is a new coach for Shabab Al Ahli Dubai and he needs time to get the team ready,” he noted.
“But these are things of the past and we don’t have too much time to think about all this. Before the end of the year we have a couple of matches in the Arabian Gulf Cup and one match of the President’s Cup. And then we have to start with our matches in the AFC Champions League,” Arruabarrena added.
