Al Wasl samba past a rudderless Al Ahli

Caio, left, and his Al Wasl teammates made it difficult for Al Ahli to get anything going on Friday night. Ashraf Al Amra / Al Ittihad

AL AHLI 0 AL WASL 4

Al Wasl -

Fabio Lima 19’, 81’, Kazim 64’, Caio 87’

Man of the match -

Fabio Lima (Al Wasl)

Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu was wary of Al Wasl before Friday night’s game, but he had no inkling that his side would crumble under the pressure applied by their mid-table opponents.

“Can only apologise for what happened tonight,” the Al Ahli coach said after a 4-0 home loss. “Not nicely done, but when you do a mistake you have to pay a price. We always try and dominate the game, but this is football. Sometimes it does not work.”

Olariou was clear that his team had no excuse as only Everton Ribeiro showed the spirit normally associated with last season’s Arabian Gulf League champions.

“Today we do not have any excuse, we had many problems with the level of concentration, and not being involved,” Olaroiu said. “Player’s don’t believe they are involved in the fight for the title. Concentration is very low, they are very tired. The coaches have many responsibilities and lot more decisions to make.”

The Romanian defended his strategy and starting XI against suggestions he got it wrong.

Brazilian’s supplied the goals with two to Fabio Lima and one for Caio Correa – with an own goal from Salmeen Khamis the second on the night – providing the rout as Al Wasl avenged the 5-1 scoreline from the previous meeting of the city rivals.

Wasl coach Gabriel Calderon was especially pleased with his team’s organisation.

“Al Wasl played a fantastic match with good strategy and good organisation,” the Argentine manager said. “In the second half, Al Ahli played very well in the first 15 to 20 minutes and made it difficult to control the game. But after that we did not give any opportunity for Al Ahli.”

Calderon also praised his team for how well they defended.

“For me, more important is the organisation of the team,” Calderon said. “In all the matches, I have changed two defenders and it’s difficult for the team to adapt. But today the team played good in a block formation, which is more important the individualistic performances.”

The fact they scored two late goals was particularly pleasing for the Al Wasl coach.

“It showed it was not luck, but the quality of the players, the strategy and the organisation of the team,” Calderon said.

Al Ahli face another test of their motivation as they head to Ajman for their next match with the need to find a much improved performance against what should be easier opposition. A test also for Olaroiu, who left the pitch last night with calls for his removal coming from the stands.

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