Hailed the Players’ Fighting Spirit.. Leko: Not Happy to Concede Two Goals at Home
“We won deservedly at home and at the expense of the strong-willed Ittihad Kalba,” Ivan Leko, the head coach of Al Ain First Football Team, stated at the post-match press conference held by the end of round 1 match of the Arabian Gulf League held at the Hazza Bin Zayed on Friday 20th September 2019.
He explained: “Al Ain dominated the match most of the time though we missed Brazil’s Caio Canedo due to a minor injury by the end of the yesterday final training session.”
Ivan congratulated the squad for their explicit fighting spirit they were so keen to exhibit as of the kickoff whistle until the last second of the match. He stressed that they know what they are meant to do in the next stages.
Leko also took the opportunity to congratulate the guests for the robust performance while underlining the importance of snatching the first three points.
Commenting on a question on his assessment of his team’s performance, he said: “The Boss squad did well, and I have to admit that the players were circulating the ball. However, we succeeded to score three goals out of six or seven critical chances. The good thing that all players assisted in scoring the three goals where Meziane from depth and Laba scored and assisted in scoring the second goal and Saeed Jumaa who scored the third and winning goal.”
He added: “We scored the goals as we trained. Indeed, the coaching team and I have full confidence in the players’ potentials.”
Leko commented on the guests’ style of playing by stating: “When you play against a team adopting the style of compact defense and closing all available spaces, it will be difficult to penetrate from depth or launch central attacks. The best way is to penetrate through the flanks.”
The team head coach signed off: “It is not acceptable to concede two goals at home and surely will handle such a situation in the training sessions.”
