We Addressed a Letter to Defer the Second Leg Match.. Toussi: Both Teams Have Equal Chances to Qualify
Morocco’s Head Coach of ES Sétif, Rachid Al Toussi, stressed that his team’s mission against Al Ain was not that easy. “Considering that that we flew a long-distance flight to Croatia following playing a top clash match in CAF African Champions League and today we played another strong and big team. My players were so exhausted in the first 15 minutes, and I was obliged to change the plan by blocking the flanks against Al Ain players who enjoy the qualities of speed and skill,” said he.
“We made positive changes to close the field against Japan’s Tsukasa Shiotani and the Brazilian Caio Lucas. Thanks God that we were successful to impose our style of playing and finish the match in our favor after we changed the style of play from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3,” said Sétif’s Head Coach. He added: “Following we took the lead by scoring our second goal, adopted a strict defensive style, in addition to relying on counter-attacks.”
Commenting on a question on chances of his team to qualify following winning Al Ain in the first leg match, he said: “I think both teams have equal chances to qualify. Indeed, I cannot say that we guarantee a final qualification as there is still another important and difficult match to play against Al Ain.” He stressed that Al Ain is a big team and its squad is full of quality players who could make the difference. “We will try our best to restore our balance and prepare ourselves in the right manner in preparation of the second leg match.”
Al Toussi revealed during the post-match conference that the Management of the ES Sétif has already addressed an official letter to Al Ain to approve their request to change the timings of the return match due to high degrees of temperature in Croatia. He emphasized: “Personally, I do highly respect Al Ain Club and I do belong to this lofty sport entity. When the random draw left us against Al Ain, I stated that the Arab Club Champions Cup promotes and enhances the strong kinship relationships among Arab brothers.
Accordingly, when Al Ain requested to relocate the two matches to Croatia, we approved their request promptly. Similarly, when we requested to delay the timings of the match, Al Ain officials approved our request and it is planned to an official letter to UAFA in the coming hours to approve our request to hold the match at 07:00 p.m. instead of 06:30 p.m.”
