Head coach Hernan Crespo was left to rue Al Ain’s missed opportunity following their 1-1 draw with Qatar’s Al Sadd in their Asian Champions League opener at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Monday.
Akram Afif opened the scoring following a defensive error in the closing stages of the first half with Al Ain needing a second half intervention from Kodjo Laba to grab a share of the spoils.
Crespo felt two-time Asian winners Al Ain were unlucky not to take all three points.
“We definitely deserved to win but conceded a goal due to an individual mistake. We came back in the second half and showed our strong character and scored the equaliser,” said Crespo.
“The decision to keep Kodjo Laba on the bench came because I’m required to make technical decisions and set the appropriate strategy for each match separately.
“Anyone who watched the first half will find that we imposed absolute control over the course of the game and conceded the goal due to an individual mistake. I believe that the second half was the right time to bring Laba on.
“We gave everything in the match but we needed the luck factor and sometimes such things happen in football.”
Al Sadd head coach Felix Sanchez was satisfied with his side’s performance but acknowledged the physical demands in the second half.
“We played a very difficult match against Al Ain in front of their fans. We had the advantage and possession in the first half and scored the opening goal in the last minutes,” said Sanchez.
“In the second half, we retreated despite our efforts and it was difficult to maintain the same rhythm until Al Ain succeeded in scoring the equaliser.
“There was great physical cohesion from the players of both teams and this helped increase the physical performance of the players in the second half.
“We were seeking to win but there were some circumstances that prevented that, the team is developing from one match to another and the result is considered good after getting a point from last season’s title holders.
“We got an important point and I congratulate my team and players on their performance today and we seek to do better in the upcoming matches.”
Meanwhile, it was a case of job done as far as Matthias Jaissle was concerned after his Al Ahli Saudi FC opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Persepolis FC on Monday.
Frank Kessie’s second minute goal eventually settled the contest but both sides had numerous opportunities at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, with Jaissle admitting it had been a tough and nervy contest.
“It was a difficult match as expected against a strong team in terms of fitness and power, and the most important thing in this tournament is to get the points at the beginning. Not everything was perfect, but the team’s mentality was excellent,” said Jaissle.
“There is no easy match in this tournament. It is important to be humble. We were keen to score at the beginning of the match, and the opponents were not easy. I hope to have a team that can pressure for 90 minutes. We are playing against teams who also want to attack and score, and this is the fun part of football.”
Luis Castro admitted that Al Nassr paid the price for poor finishing after they had to be satisfied with a share of the points against Al Shorta in their opener on Monday.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr enjoyed a dream start with Sultan Al Ghannam giving them a 14th minute lead. Mohammed Dawood equalised 10 minutes later for Iraq’s Al Shorta but Castro’s side had numerous opportunities after that to take the points but were let down by a lack of sharpness in front of the goalmouth.
“We could have performed better but we faced tough opponents on their home ground, who fought hard, especially in the middle of the field,” said Castro.
“The atmosphere was difficult and the pitch conditions were challenging but even with these difficult conditions, we succeeded in controlling the ball and threatened the opponents with many attacks.”
Castro said Al Nassr, who face Qatar’s Al Rayyan SC in two weeks, will have to work on their finishing.