O'Leary dares Al Ahli to show character

Dubai: David O'Leary's journey to understanding his Al Ahli team continued late on Thursday following the former champion's 4-0 thrashing by rivals Al Nasr.

"The question now is whether we will have the chance to see the character of this team in the next round. Will they be able to bounce back and like all big teams prove they are worthy of being champions," O'Leary said Thursday.

Al Nasr's Esmail Bangoura and Carlos Tenorio secured a brace each to bring the mighty Red Devils led by former Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro to their knees.

Lacking cohesion

Al Ahli, champions in the inaugural version of the UAE Football League's (UFL) two seasons ago, lacked cohesion and synchronisation, and O'Leary was quick to admit this deficiency in his side.

"As I have said in the past this is a team that I am trying to understand each day. The ultimate aim is to build a solid unit and not a team that depends on individual abilities," O'Leary said.

"We played like individuals today. If we play like individuals then we are bound to be punished and that is exactly what happened. They had two strikers whom we couldn't stop, and the first two goals that they scored were pure gifts," he lamented.

"I have no excuses as the better team won this match by a mile," O'Leary added.

Al Nasr coach Eid Barout, who took over the reins at Al Nasr following the sacking of Brazilian Helios dos Anjos earlier this month, tasted sweet success for merely sticking to the basics.

To start with, Barout drafted a young team, urging them to keep moving the ball with the hope that the duo of Tenorio and Bangoura would deliver on the rival goal.

"In the end it was the strikers who made the difference for us. When we had two early goals we were more comfortable going into the second half. Of course we could have won by a bigger margin if our finishing had been better," Barout said.