Calling on fans to support all players
Matar Obeid Al Dhaheri “Al Sahbani”, Al Ain team manager, highly regarded the consent of Emirates Club to move the game from their stadium in Ras Al Khaimah to HBZ Stadium; “This impressive move is not uncommon from the the Emirates Club Board who always cooperate with everyone according to the highest professional standards. I’d also like to thank the UAE football Association, UAE Pro League Committee and everyone for creating the perfect conditions to enable Al Ain complete its national mission in the AFC championship successfully,” he said.
Though he regarded injuries quite common in football, Al Sahbani regretted the absence of some key players; “It’s a big loss to miss Mohamed Ahmed who can play in several positions and Khaled Issa, the best goalkeeper in UAE. However, big teams are always expected to overcome all circumstances.”
“I’m sure,” he continued, “the substitutes selected by Zlatko will prove to be trustworthy. Saeed Al Menhali and Fawzi Fayez fared well before Lokomotiv when they replaced Mohamed Fayez and Mohamed Ahmed Al Ain is an integrated team and every player knows his responsibility and the important role he should play to achieve the club’s objectives.”
“Khaled Issa had a posterior muscle rupture and he is currently under an intensive treatment program to regain his level of preparedness before the game against El Jaish of Qatar. Also Mohamed Fayez recently had a minor muscle rupture and he is expected to miss the game against the Emirates”, he added.
Asked about the AGL Round 2 game against the Emirates, he said: “In fact, we are currently focusing on gaining further three points from this very important game to increase our tally to six points.”
Al Sahbani believed that Al Ain fans must not worry over their team’s low scoring rate; “In our game against Baniyas, we controlled the field and had several chances to score but the three points were more important than the number of goals scored. In fact, Danilo Asprilla, our Colombian player, feels that he is required to concentrate more because missing easy chances sometimes affect the team’s concentration and he has the capabilities and wish to show his best performance as we felt when we talked to him recently.”
He went on to say: “I really believe that Dyanfres Douglas, our Brazilian player, is able to score when he gets a chance as there are other tactical roles for him in attack and defense according to modern football concepts which require roles integration on the field. Thus, goals are not necessarily scored by strikers and what is more important is the team’s win.”
“Douglas proved to everybody that he owns good attack capabilities, and he was superb and scored many goals in the last season. Therefore, we should not worry because he is not scoring now. I feel that he can show a satisfying performance in the coming games”, he added.
“I’d like to ask the club’s loyal fans to support and encourage all players in gatherings and on social media platforms, and above all from the stands. We are used to their support to any player that wears Al Ain jersey and belongs to this lofty sport organization”, Al Sahbani concluded.
