Mamic criticizes defenders mistakes in AFC game against Saudi Al Ahli
Zoran Mamic, the Croatian Coach of Al Ain Football Team, said that he is not happy with certain mistakes made by the team defenders in the in AFC Champions League Group C fixture against Al Ahli. However, Mamic hailed the performance of defender Ismail Ahmed who had a balanced performance in the game.
The team should do the best in the coming break to set up everything and correct the mistakes we notice after every game, Mamic said, asserting that Al Ain should perform better than what have been seen in the game against Al Ahli to qualify to the next stage.
Commenting on if he is satisfied with the result of the game against Al Ahli, the Croatian coach said “Of course it’s positive to clinch a point in a way game, however, I am not happy with the draw as the team had to perform better in the game.”
Answering a question about the reason of getting Danilo Asprilla, who is an offensive player, out of the game to be replaced by a midfield defender, Mamic said that the Colombian player did not take part in matches since a long time due to injury, stressing that the player could not play the whole game. At that time, we lost control in the midfield and I wanted to have the needed balance, the coach added.
The injury was behind losing a number of key defenders in the time we are planned to play challenging matches in the continental tournament, Mamic said, pointing out that caution should be practiced when dealing with the team players.
I started using rotation policy and as you see I have benched the key player Mohanad Al-Enezi in the game against Al Ahli, the coach noted.
On the efforts he made to reduce the offensiveness of Al Ahli players such as Omar Al Somah Salman Al-Moasher, Mamic that we are supposed to be more focused on each game’s conditions.
The coach asserted that the Saudi giants include distinguished players such as Omar Al Somah Salman Al-Moasher. He noted that Al Ain also have great players, pointing out that he adopted a high pressure style of play in the Jeddah game to prevent certain players of Al Ahli from being very dangerous.
The head coach of the Garden City Club stressed that all teams still have the chance to qualify for the next stage of the Asian tournament, pointing out that Al Ain’s remaining games include two games at home and only one away.
He noted that the team’s goal is not easy; however, concentration is a must to qualify for the next stage.
