Dubai: Cosmin Olaroiu was among the first to admit his team had blown off a semblance of opportunity Al Ahli had of defending their Arabian Gulf League (AGL) title following their 2-2 draw at home against Sharjah, late on Saturday.
“The stadium was empty and we were missing one crucial player [the crowd support]. To make things worse, we made mistakes in the defence that we normally avoid, and we paid the price for this,” Olaroiu told media at the post-match conference.
“I saw an overall lack of concentration, and this was normal at this stage of the league. Everton [Ribeiro] missed, [Asamoah] Gyan missed, [Abdul Aziz] Haikal missed, [Makhete] Diop missed. Far too many chances missed, and that is what we have. I am disappointed with the result as it meant we have lost the title,” the Romanian added.
Ghanaian Gyan scored his 100th goal for the Red Knights after he converted from the penalty spot following a foul on substitute Ahmad Khalil in the 65th minute to cancel out Kakan’s ninth minute strike. Sharjah went clear a second time when Kakan scored his second on the night from the spot in the 80th minute, only to see Diop rise above the Sharjah defence and head in past Mohammad Yousuf on the 82nd minute for a well-deserved, but disappointing 2-2 draw.
The result — and Al Jazira’s 5-0 thrashing of Hatta at the other end of Dubai — handed the AGL crown to the Pride of Abu Dhabi for only the second time since football turned professional in the UAE in 2008.
With two more rounds remaining in the AGL, Al Jazira are at the summit with an unbeatable lead of 62 points, followed by Al Ahli (52), Al Wasl (51) and Al Ain who went up to 49 points following a 3-2 win at home against Al Wahda later on Saturday.
Next up for Cosmin and Al Ahli is their Round 25 trip to Kalba on May 3 followed by their final AFC Champions League Group A match at home against Lokomotiv, Uzbekistan on May 9. Their final round AGL match at home against cellar-placed Bani Yas on May 13.
“The reality for us is that we have to play a game every three days. And we are going to be without some of our key players including Diop, and possibly Ahmad [Khalil]. No, I am not satisfied with second place as it only means we have lost our title. We are in any tournament to win the trophy, and today we are the only team with a couple of trophies to show this season,” Olaroiu noted.
“We congratulate Al Jazira for winning the title and we will continue chasing the points in the next two matches of the league and we still need to qualify to the knock-out stages of the Asian Champions League,” Olaroiu promised.
