Amouri: We’ll not play the second-leg to a 1-0 win
To see their 1-2 loss to Jeonbuk in the AFC champions league final first-leg as a positive result in their favor is certainly part of Al Ain Captain Omar Abdurrahman’s leading personality.
“It provides us with the opportunity of winning the Asian title the second time if win the second-leg by 1-0,” he explained.
However, he confirmed in his statement to Al Ain FC’s official website that their pursuit will go beyond that result; “Though a 1-0 win will suffice for us to win the title, we won’t play the second-leg to that end; we can’t rely on it. Our rivals are expected in this scenario to continue pushing forward for an equalizer and then will deprive us of the title. Therefore, we need to lead by more than one goal especially that we have the home advantage,” he confirmed.
He promised that he along with his teammates will make the second-leg very difficult for the visiting South Koreans and that will play their best in order to be the champions of Asia again.
Reflecting on the first-leg, Omar thought that they should have ended at least with a draw pointing out that they did not play comfortably because the pitch was bad. “Despite this, our players fared well. The second goal scored by Jeonbuk’s midfielder Leonardo was smart,” he added.
He reiterated that Al Ain FC outplayed their hosts and many of them had the opportunity to score but they could not; “I don’t tend to say that luck was not on our side; but let me assure you that we are capable of ending the second-leg in our favor and stand on the podium,” he continued.
He appreciated the fans for flying to South Korea to stand by them; “Though their numbers were incomparable to the South Korean fans, Al Ain fans lifted our spirits and motivated us. I’m sure it will be interestingly different to play at home with 25 thousand fans cheering us,” he said.
Finally, he called upon the fans of all Emirati clubs to support Al Ain FC in the second-leg; I’m looking forward to seeing large numbers of our fans supporting us from the very moment till the end. In turn, we promise them that each player will play their best to delight them.” He concluded.
