Dubai: Al Wasl coach Gabriel Calderon is pleased his team has arrived as genuine contenders to the title following a hard-fought 2-1 win over unbeaten Bani Yas late on Friday.
Brazilian striker Caio Canedo scored both goals in the first half while visiting Bani Yas — unbeaten till now — managed to pull one back as Frenchman Joaquin Larrivey got his eighth goal of the season in the 78th minute in the ninth round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL).
Al Wasl’s win took them into fourth position with 15 points throwing the top of the AGL wide open. At the moment, only two teams have an unbeaten record — Al Ahli with 18 points in second place with maximum 18 points from six matches and Al Nasr in third with five wins and three draws for their 18 points.
Al Ain continues to head the standings with 19 points after six wins, a draw and a loss from eight matches. However, the fight for the top spots may well change following Al Nasr’s tussle with defending champions Al Ain in their ninth round match scheduled late on Saturday.
For the time-being, Calderon was pleased that Al Wasl has managed to put themselves in the mix for the AGL race. “I have always maintained that every match is a final and we need to go for a win all the time. There are no easy games in this league. Now the players are all very happy with this win as this puts us in a position that we’ve always wanted to be. I need to continue on this path and push the players in this same direction, while on their part the players need to continue playing the same way if they want to be champions,” the former Argentinian national team player told media.
“At no point should the players think they are in the semi-finals. Every match has to be a final, and only then will be able to go for the title,” he added.
Coming in with three wins and four draws, Bani Yas had a chance to join the top three. “But we didn’t deserve to win today as we did not play to the plan. The second goal was a gift from us to Al Wasl. No doubt, we were the better team in the second half with four or five scoring opportunities. But that counts for nothing as we have lost,” Luis Garcia observed.
“The best player out there was the Al Wasl goalkeeper [Rashid Ali, coming in as a substitute after Yousuf Abdullah was injured early]. He did a tremendous job in keeping Al Wasl safe,” he added.
“What would be our plan now after this loss? There is nothing more to say. We will start preparing for the next match [versus Al Nasr on December 3],” Garcia said.