Dubai: Cosmin Olaroiu has called on Al Ahli to keep their focus as they travel to Hatta for their 19th round match of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Wednesday.
Olaroiu witnessed his team rout neighbours Al Shabab 4-1 last week and maintain their pressure on the top two Al Jazira and Al Wasl. But the Romanian was far from pleased with his team’s display last week, despite Makhete Diop’s brace within two minutes to subdue the Hawks.
“We shouldn’t be making the same mistakes,” Olaroiu said at the prematch conference on Monday.
“No doubt we need to win. But we need to play good and win. And for this we need to stay focused all the time,” he added.
Defending the title they won last season, Al Ahli have been reasonably sound, barring a couple of losses and five drawn games that they have had to endure after 18 matches so far. In comparison, second-placed Al Wasl have three losses, but just three drawn encounters.
“Honestly, we don’t have any easy game from now on. Everyone wants to win especially against Al Ahli. So we need to keep our spirits high and stay convinced that we can walk away with all three points every time we play,” Olaroiu said.
“Perhaps the score could have been 6-0 in the last game [against Al Shabab]. But that doesn’t mean that it can be the same against any of the other teams. Teams in this region have a problem and that is they tend to look at past results between two teams. In the bargain they lose concentration and focus,” he added.
“The past results are really not important at any stage. We have a game on hand and we should stay fully focused on this one rather than think about what we did against the same team the last time,” Olaroiu stressed.
“We have big players and I expect them all to stay focused and deliver three points to the team.”
Elsewhere, Al Shabab’s new coach is desperately seeking an elusive first win as they take on former champions Al Ain.
After conceding eight goals in their last two matches, the mindset of Miroslav Dukic is quite understandable. Taking over the reins from Fred Rutten, the Serbian has had to witness a 4-0 drubbing from Emirates followed by the 4-1 rout from their neighbours and arch-rivals last week. This has seen the Hawks slide down the standings into eighth place with 24 points before they face yet another strong and compact side in the form of Al Ain.
“We are up against a strong team that will be looking for full points to avenge their loss last week [against Dibba],” Dukic said.
“It is not a normal thing to concede eight goals in only two matches. But that is the situation at the moment and we need to alter it as soon as possible. Most of the goals were due to silly mistakes and we really cannot afford to make any more mistakes, especially in the defence,” the Serbian stressed.
The coach, who took over following the sacking of Rutten last month, is relieved to welcome back at least a few of his first-choice players, such as Mohammad Ayed, Mohammad Manae, Eisa Mohammad and Mohammad Ebrahim, from suspensions or injuries. “We have our style, strengths and tactics and we need the full points from each and every game just like any of the other teams,” Dukic said.
“We had a lot of positives despite losing against Al Ahli last week. We desperately need a win badly, and that will perhaps put our campaign back on track,” the coach hoped.
With nearly all hope lost either for the title or for a top-four finish for qualifying for next season’s AFC Champions League, Dukic is now faced with the task of rebuilding his side. “The most important thing now is to ensure we play strong and to our strengths as a team. We need to further develop as a team,” he said.
“I am convinced we have a good bunch of players, and we are on the right track. Perhaps, all we need now is a little bit of luck on our side,” Dukic added.
Arabian Gulf League
Fixtures:
Wednesday: 5.25pm: Hatta v Al Ahli; 5.30pm Al Jazira v Emirates; 8.15pm: Al Shabab v Al Ain
Thursday: 5.35pm: Al Dhafra v Bani Yas; 8.15pm: Al Wahda v Sharjah
Friday: 5.25pm: Dibba v Al Nasr; 8.15pm: Al Wasl v Kalba
Standings
Team P W D L F A Df Pts
Al Jazira 18 15 2 1 48 13 35 47
Al Wasl 18 12 3 3 40 17 23 39
Al Ahli 18 11 5 2 36 12 24 38
Al Ain 18 11 4 3 36 23 13 37
Al Dhafra 18 7 5 6 26 30 -4 26
Al Wahda 18 6 7 5 31 25 6 25
Al Nasr 18 8 1 9 33 26 7 25
Al Shabab 18 6 6 6 18 29 -11 24
Hatta 18 5 5 8 17 29 -12 20
Sharjah 18 4 5 9 18 29 -11 17
Kalba 18 4 4 10 19 28 -9 16
Dibba 18 3 6 9 18 37 -19 15
Emirates 18 3 3 12 22 32 -10 12
Bani Yas 18 2 2 14 17 49 -32 8
