Qualified on the Expense of An Asian Giant.. Al Toussi Hailed the Fighting Spirit of the “Black Eagle” Squad
Head Coach of Algeria’s ES Sétif, Rachid Al Toussi, assured that he was fully aware of Al Ain’s capabilities and their ability to return and react swiftly in the return match. He pointed out that he did warn his players during the last technical meeting on Al Ain’s reaction and their quality players who are featured by the collective and hasty style of playing.
In the post-match press conference held by the end of the match between the two teams, Al Toussi said: “I would like to avail this opportunity to commend my squad’s super fighting spirit they exhibited during today’s match. It is one of the most difficult matches we have played since the kick off of the team’s current season.”
He justified losing the match to Al Ain by highlighting the fact: “It was clear that my players were suffering from fatigue and exhaustion during the whole first half of the match as it is not possible for any team to play three consecutive matches with the same level of performance.”
He added: “I made sure that they blocked all open spaces against Al Ain’s players who were insistent to score a leading gaol in the early minutes of the match. Indeed, they were able to do so by the end of the first half taking an advantage of a mistake committed by our defender who did not pay attention the stinger Ibrahim Diaky.”
He underlined the importance of his team’s qualification by saying: “I believe that qualifying on the expense of Al Ain, one of Asia’s giants, is a great motive for my squad to move forward in this championship. It is not easy to win a very strong team who has 9 international players of UAE National Football Team among their squad in addition to the Sweden’s international player, Marcus Berg. Once you have this chance, you are to be sure you are playing against a quality big team who is able to make the difference any time.”
He concluded his statement by extending his heartful congratulations to the fans of ES Sétif, “I Would like to thank all the team’s fans who were so committed to attend the match and always stand behind their team regardless the whereabouts. I hope this season will be exceptional at all levels.”
