The Al Wahda coach Ahmen Abdulhaleem praised Ismail Matar, after the striker scored a late equaliser in the 1-1 derby draw with Al Jazira, and he said that the UAE international had proved a point to any doubters. Abdulhaleem said: "Matar proved what a good striker his is. He is a bit disappointed to have missed a few chances, but in the end, while all eyes were watching the high profile signings, it was our UAE striker who made the difference.
"While we were under pressure for large parts of the game. I felt we missed a lot of chances and could have done a lot better in front of goal. "At the end we have to be satisfied as we scored a late goal, and so it is a good start to our campaign." Meanwhile, the Jazira coach Abel Braga said his team were disappointed with the draw. "Both teams missed a lot of chances," the Brazilian commented. "But i think overall we are a little disappointed because we should have got more than a point."
Jazira's big-money Brazilian striker Rafael Sobis was largely annonymous throughout the match and was bought off near the end to howls of derision from the home fans. Braga added: "It was very difficult for Sobis, we decided to substitute him because he was feeling very tired and was affected by the conditions. "It's going to take him a bit of time to adapt to the new envrionment and we can't expect too much from him at this stage.
"Obviously, lots of people are watching him but he has never played in this kind of climate before. This is something to work on with him. "I felt we could have made more of possession we had, and that at times we domainated the match. It is a pity we could not make more of this." @Email:vchaudhary@thenational.ae