Um cara apaixonado pelo esporte mais popular do mundo. Pernambucano de Olinda, deseja compartilhar seus conhecimentos e opiniões sobre o que mais acontece de relevante no mundo do futebol nordestino. Aqui você terá acesso a estatísticas em geral do futebol. Espero que o blog venha agregar muitas informações e boas discussões, superando os limites das quatro linhas dos gramados. Divulgue a seus amigos. Muito obrigado e acompanhem o blog!
quarta-feira, 29 de abril de 2015
Arabian Gulf League 2014/2015
Al Ain struggle for motivation in goalless draw at Al Wahda
ABU DHABI // Al Ain’s intentions were clear: they wanted to put on a show against Al Wahda.
Despite having already claiming the Arabian Gulf League title and having secured their place in the last 16 of the Asian Champions League last week, the Garden City club still elected to field a strong team, with Asamoah Gyan the only star name omitted from the starting XI.
However, try as they might, the match ended scoreless last night at Al Nahyan stadium, a result Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic said was a fair result
“It was a strong 90 minutes. We played the first half better to control the game and had some chances to score, and even when Wahda played more offensively in the second half we defended well,” he said.
“OK, we missed a few chances, but a scoreless draw was a fair result. It is true that we had already achieved our objectives ahead of this match but we always want to play the best available team. This is my style.”
Al Ain came closest to scoring in the first half when Fares Juma’s header off an Omar Abdulrahman free kick crashed against the crossbar.
Lee Myung-joo’s bicycle kick on the ensuing rebound was blocked by Adel Al Hosani, the Wahda goalkeeper, and Jires Kembo-Ekoko was wide with his effort on the loose ball.
Wahda went on the offensive in the second half as they looked to close the gap on second-placed Al Jazira, and Miraslov Stoch’s powerfully struck shot was blocked by Khaled Essa in the Al Ain goal.
“It isn’t easy to motivate a team that has won the league and reached the round of 16 in the ACL,” Dalic said. “I told my players that we are the champions and want to play like the champions in the remaining three games. We still have the President’s Cup to play for and these games can be useful for our preparations.”
Sami Al Jaber, the Wahda coach, said his players will target maximum points from their remaining two Arabian Gulf League fixtures and try to finish as high up the league as possible.
“Our main target is to keep the fighting spirit going and to keep up the good performance going into the President’s Cup, which is something we are looking forward to,” he said. “Drawing a match and dropping points is like losing money from my pocket for me. However, it would have hurt more had we lost these points against a team placed fifth or sixth in the league. A draw against Al Ain cannot be called a bad result.”
Al Jazira edge out Sharjah to reclaim second in Arabian Gulf League table
Al Jazira held on to achieve a 2-1 victory away at Sharjah in the Arabian Gulf League and reclaim second spot on their own in the table.
Al Shabab had heaped the pressure on the Abu Dhabi club in the race for second spot with a 1-0 win over Fujairah on Sunday that drew them level on points.
But, despite a strong second-half fightback from the hosts at the Sharjah Stadium, Jazira managed to pick up three vital points.
The result puts Al Jazira on 48 points, three ahead of Shabab and seven behind champions Al Ain.
The visitors needed just five minutes to get their noses in front as UAE international striker Ali Mabkhout toe-poked a finish past national team colleague Mohamed Yousif in the Sharjah goal for his 14th League strike of the season.
Five minutes before the interval, Al Jazira had made it 2-0 and this time it was Mabkhout who put the AGL’s top striker Mirko Vucinic through to score, taking his tally for the season to 25 goals.
A double substitution for the hosts at half-time saw youngsters Yousif Saeed and Muhain Khalifa enter the fray in place of Eisa Ahmed and Hamad Ibrahim.
The changes appeared to have the desired impact as Sharjah looked markedly improved.
They were handed some hope when a penalty was awarded for a foul on Marion Silva, and it was the club’s top scorer Wanderley who converted the spot kick past Ali Khaseif in the 79th minute.
BJazira had to resort to some meaty challenges in the closing stages to prevent Sharjah from scoring an equaliser, with a number of yellow cards issued for their troubles.
However, the home side could not find the net again and they sit 10th in the table with two games to go in the season.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário