Caio’s Recent Injury Keeps Him Away from the Boss’ Starting Lineup.. Pedro Emmanuel: So Proud of the Young Players’ Performance and Fully Determined to Win All the Remaining Matches
Referees Must Protect the Players in All Matches
“We did not have much time to prepare for the away match against Ajman,” Portuguese head coach of Al Ain stated ahead matchweek 22 of AGL.
He added: “In my point of view, Al Ain played more balanced, and the only difference was we got five chances to score, but we scored only one goal. Meanwhile, Bani Yas got two chances and scored two goals; this made a big difference. However, I was happy with the team’s performance but for sure not the result.”
Pedro pointed out that the team is in deep need of the three points of each coming match more than ever as “the season is about to finish and we need to be among the top teams. Had we played our past games with the same balance, our results would have been better. In the last match against Bani Yas, we deserved to get a better result, but it is a fact that we lost the three points.”
As for Caio’s injury in the last match, he commented: “I believe we have to think about it seriously. As a coach and all fans and football lovers, want to see the best players on the pitch. The last match was the best example of football’s bad side when Caio Canedo was tackled from behind by the Bani Yas player, who touched the ball but also kicked Caio on his leg. The referee did not take any action, and Caio stayed out the lines to receive medical treatment, and the team continued playing but down by one man.”
“One of the consequences happened as a result of that, we conceded the second goal at the time we were performing well. We would miss Caio in the coming match, and I do not know for how long, but the fact we have to face is that we would miss one of the pillars of the team who arrived at the required level physically and tactically.”
The Boss head coach stated that noting in the team’s favor at present, and the coaching team should maintain the best players to be ready for the next matches.
“For me, everything was disappointing in the last match. We not only lost the match’s three points but also missed certain players due to injury. It is one of the obstacles we are facing, and we could do nothing to avoid it unless the referees do something to protect the players, and by this, they protect the match,” Pedro stated.
Pedro commented on the fouls committed in his team’s match against Bani Yas by saying: “To be the aggressive team does not mean that you are the team committing more fouls. Bani Yas committed 16 fouls compared to 9 committed by the Al Ain squad. Indeed, this is an advantage for my team who were aggressive but did their best to avoid committing mistakes.”
He stressed that referees must consider such an aspect well as “we lost one of the most important players of the team because of this.”
He also stated that he has no clue when Caio will recover and be ready, but he hoped Caio would be fit before the matches of the AFC Champions League 2021. He emphasized that this is very important considering the number of absent players.
The Al Ain team coach highlighted the fact he is so happy by the young players of the Reserved Team who joined the team.
“I am proud of their performance, and they proved that they are up to it and reliable. They proved they deserve the chance they got, and they would be the future of the team. Once we lose any player, we replace him with the one who shows he wants to be part of the team,” he said.
He assured that he would continue adopting the same policy and allow the young players to prove themselves, given that the team misses 15 players at the moment.
Pedro also accentuates the importance of winning all teams in this critical phase of the season, including Ajman. “We know that Ajman is struggling and in deep need of the points, and we also know that our mission would not be easy.”
He hailed Ajman’s players, who are physically strong and fight well to possess the ball. Meanwhile, he identified that the Boss must keep the ball and dominate the match and “when we lose the ball to react well as a team to regain it as we did in the last match. We have to score goals contrary to what happened in the last match when we got 4 to 5 chances to score but scored only one goal.”
He said: “These are part of the problems the team faced this season and that the coaching team do their best to overcome it.”
He concluded his statement by emphasizing that players are playing more confidently than ever, and an example of this Laba Kodjo, who is back to his average performance level. “We have to continue doing the same when we play against Ajman and win the three points.”
