We Did Not Play for A Draw Result with All Due Respect for the Opponent’s Aspirations.. Sergiy Rebrov: We Lost Two Points at Shabab Al Ahli Stadium
Tonight’s match was so interesting considering it is between the league top team and the second on the standing table. We created several chances and took the lead, but they were able to equalize shortly,” Sergiy Rebrov stated in the post-match press conference of the away matchweek 8 of the ADNOC Pro League against Shabab Al Ahli.
He admitted that Shabab Al Ahli had the advantage over Al Ain by being well positioned on the pitch and launching more attacks. However, he pointed out that the Boss squad played a match two days ago in the Pro League Cup compared to the opponent who had a goodtime with no matches.
The Ukraine Head Coach stressed that they should close this chapter and focus on preparing the team for Al Dhafra Team.
Commenting on a question regarding the secret behind retreating to the back lines in the second half as if he was aiming to achieve the draw result, he said: “We did not play to achieve a draw result! We came here to clinch the match’s three points.” He also stressed that the Boss squad dominated the match on several occasions and created chances but not invested them in the right way.”
Sergiy reminded that media reporters that his team a match two days ago against the Emirates in the Pro League Cup and that the opponent replaced certain players with faster ones but also in vain and did not scored.
Commenting on a question on whether a draw result is fair for the team in the league, he said: “I do not consider the league as much as I take care of my team’s best interests which the most important thing. We did our best to achieve a better result than what we achieved. However, tonight we lost two points with all due respect to the aspirations of Shabab Al Ahli.”
As for replacing Soufiane Rahimi by Brazil’s Jonatas Santos, he replied: “Actually, I sought to add more teeth to the front line taking advantage of Jonatas’ speed. I did thank Rahimi for his great efforts he exerted during the match. Personally, I always try my best to serve the best interest of the team and this is why I relied on young fast player.”
