Bani Yas frustrated in GCC final first leg

Abu Dhabi: Salem Al Orfi, caretaker coach of Bani Yas, was left satisfied but hot happy as his team returned home with a valuable 1-1 draw from the first leg of the GCC Clubs Championship final against Al Khor in Doha late on Friday.

“Before the match, we would have been pleased with a draw,” Al Orfi said. “But after we took complete control of the match in the second half and after their striker was sent off we could have easily won.”

Al Khor took the lead in the 10th minute when Julio Cesar, the former Al Shabab Al Arabi striker, went inside the box and crossed to his colleague Bruno Mineiro, who placed home from inside the six yard box.

Nawaf Mubarak could have levelled the scores for Bani Yas in the 36th minute from a free-kick, but home goalkeeper Baba Djibril saved brilliantly.

In the second half, Bani Yas took command of the action and controlled midfield. They were the better team as the home players left large spaces for them to move and build their attacking moves.

Mohammad Abou Trika watched in dismay as his fierce shot rebounded off the bar, but Andre Senghor was on target two minutes later following a pass from Habboush Saleh.

In the 72nd minute, Mineiro committed his second bookable offence and was dismissed, which means he will not be available for the return leg in the UAE on Thursday.

Bani Yas pressed in the remaining minutes but failed to score a winning goal.

“We could have settled the result in the last 15 minutes but our players lost concentration. I do hope that we will play better in the return leg at home, which is the real final. But we will not take Al Khor for granted because they are a good team,” Al Orfi said.