Al Nasr coach Jovanovic irked by sub-par effort from his players in Bur Dubai derby

One point not good enough for Al Nasr but just fine by Al Wasl

Fahad Salim Hadeed, centre top, of Al Nasr collides with Al Wasl's Ganim Ahmed Basheer during their Arabian Gulf League match in Dubai on September 30, 2014. Antonie Robertson / The National

DUBAI // Upset with a lacklustre performance, Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic described the efforts of his players in the drab Bur Dubai derby as unacceptable.

Nasr, who won the corresponding fixture 6-1 last season, barely created any chances on Tuesday night, though their Brazilian midfielder Renan Garcia was unfortunate not to get on the score sheet, denied twice by the post in the final four minutes of the opening half.

"We have still not played at the level we played last year," said Jovanovic, whose team have only one win from their four matches, over Sharjah, while they have shared points with Baniyas and Al Wasl and have lost at Al Shabab.

“Of course, we are not happy with the result. This was not our target. But what concerns me more as a coach is the way we played. If we see today’s game as a whole, we had one chance created by [Brett] Holman and the two shots by Garcia.

“There are new players in the midfield and they need some time to understand exactly what we want. They try a lot on the field, but they are still not playing the way we want.

“So our performance has upset me more than the result. We didn’t play the way we wanted and we didn’t win the game. Although we controlled the pace of the game, we could not create any chances. If you don’t create chances, then it is very difficult to score.

“Given the performance of both the teams on the field, the draw was a fair result. But, in general, we cannot be happy with the overall performance of the team and we really need to improve.”

Al Wasl did not create many chances, either, waiting at the back and trying to catch Nasr on the counter-attack, but with Ederson, who played as a lone striker for most of the 90 minutes, lacking pace, the visitors never really threatened.

Jorginho, the Wasl coach, had no complaints and seemed pleased with the performance of his team, who were drubbed 5-1 at home by Al Ahli in their last match and are in the relegation zone, with two points from four matches.

“The most important thing about this match is the spirit the team showed – the grace, the determination and the character,” Jorginho said. “This is the team I would like to see for every match.

"We could have won the game and we should have won because we were better on the pitch. But the most important thing, we should not have lost this match. If you look at our previous matches, we have improved a lot.

“We are improving and this is very important to remember because every other team has almost the same players and our team is completely new.”

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