Tuesday, Sep 22, 2015

Dubai: Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu has warned there will be no easy games for his side as they chase glory at home and abroad in the early stages of this season.

The Red Knights made it two wins out of two in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) by edging Al Dhafra 2-1 at the Rashid Stadium late on Monday, Esmail Al Hammadi’s winner saving them the blushes after Abdul Rahim Juma had cancelled out Rodrigo Lima’s opener.

That win followed on from their successful AFC Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to Naft Tehran last week, when they sealed their place in the last-four of the Asia-wide competition for the first time.

But Romanian Olaroiu warned: “I think our problem at the moment is concentration. We need to be more professional and become even more consistent by dedicating equal attention to all games. There is no easy game here, be it in the AFC Champions League or the AGL.

“The AFC Champions League is always going to be very tough, especially now because this is our first time in the semi-finals. There are so many elements involved here.

“Last week [against Naft], we were playing before a full stadium of fans. And tonight [Monday] we had a few hundred. We need our fans to come and support us as we embark on this journey to be consistent throughout the season.

“We will always try and play good entertaining football and, hopefully, that will help us bring all our fans to the stadium.”

Al Ahli’s players will get just one day off for Eid on Thursday, after which they will start preparations for the trip to Riyadh for their Champions League semi-final first leg against Al Hilal on September 29.

Al Dhafra’s French coach Laurent Banide lamented his team’s mistakes after crashing to a third straight defeat.

“We worked hard and played well, but unfortunately we made mistakes against a top-class team and paid for the errors,” he said.

“But I am happy with the way we have been shaping up. We must not forget that we have played three of the best teams this season — Al Ain, Al Nasr and Al Ahli. We should not give up but work hard to get better results.”

By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter

Gulf News 2015. All rights reserved.