Hostile crowds fail to unsettle Al Nasr coach

Dubai:  Under fire Al Nasr coach Helios Dos Anjos, who has lost two games in two, conceding six goals without reply, said there was "no relevance" in the out of work former Al Wahda coach Laszlo Boloni sitting in the stands to witness his side's 0-3 home drubbing to Al Ain.

The Brazilian Dos Anjos, who was booed off the field and closely followed down the tunnel by Boloni chaperoned by officials, said, "I've worked in this profession for over 20 years. A situation like this is nothing new. I'm used to pressure where you cannot go outside. The pressure at this moment is under control."

Al Ain overcame Al Nasr in a dire 3-0 affair via goals from Jose Sand (on 52 and 90 minutes) and Abdul Aziz Fayez on 87 minutes. The first two efforts were assisted by Fawzi Fayez. Al Nasr had nothing in reply for the visitors apart from an attempted lob by Carlos Tenorio on four minutes.

"Pressure is not in my rules. It is not a word in my vocabulary. I have to fight until the end because I'm the commander. This moment is very shameful," said Dos Anjos.

Same predicament

"I am responsible, I am to blame for the organisation. I cannot run away from this responsibility. I can talk about Ramadan and the heat but everyone is in the same predicament, I will not just try to save myself," said Dos Anjos who will use the fourteen day break to correct some defensive irregularities in his squad.

Dos Anjos continued, "It is very simple we have to defend as well as we attack, if we had marked well against Al Jazira and Al Ain we could have drawn these games."

"If we are afraid of failure we don't deserve to be in this group. We need courage, we need to be men. These next fourteen days will be bad for me because I don't want to just survive this situation, I want to try to fight to get out of it."

Meanwhile Al Ain coach Abdul Humaid said of his young team: "They are afraid to kick the ball, they are nervous 17 years olds, but despite their age they are expected to be champions."

Accident

Rahman reaction

In reaction to Yousuf Abdul Rahman's car accident on Thursday night Al Ain coach Abdul Humid Al Mastaka said, "I didn't want the players to see Yousuf in hospital last night for his own benefit. He had two operations today [Friday] ... He's not only a player but a son, brother and friend to all. We want him back as a player — there is a lot invested in him. The whole sporting world in the UAE has been affected by his accident."

— A.H.