Champions Al Ahli are determined to iron out the mistakes from their shock loss to Al Shabab and prove they remain the team to beat in the Arabian Gulf League, according to coach Cosmin Olaroiu.
The Red Knights conceded four unanswered goals in 22 second-half minutes to fall to a 4-2 defeat, their first in the top flight at Rashid Stadium for more than two years. A chance at redemption comes with another Dubai derby, this time against Jorginho’s Al Wasl tomorrow (Friday).
Romanian Olaroiu believes a lack of concentration from his players was to blame for the Shabab result rather than endemic frailties in his defence. He said: “We will try to get over the defeat to Al Shabab, a lot of clubs even bigger than us have faced the same thing and it is something many teams go through.
“I hope we don’t make the same mistakes as we did in the last game.
“It’s true that there were defensive mistakes but they weren’t individual players’ mistakes, it was general focus. The goalkeeper only made one mistake on the first goal, there were no big individual technical errors, it was a collective loss of concentration.”
Ahli brought in UAE full-back Essa Santo this week from Al Wahda, with a foreign-player spot also up for grabs following the ankle fracture suffered by forward Ciel.
Olaroiu though refused to deny or confirm whether more additions would be made prior to the transfer window closing on October 2.
