Cosmin Olaroiu urges Al Ahli to finish off Al Nasr in President’s Cup final

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  • Hoping to end season on a high: Cosmin Olaroiu.

    Al Ahli boss Cosmin Olaroiu has urged one final push from his battle-weary players to end a once-depressing season on a high with President’s Cup final victory.

    The Red Knights’ campaign has been transformed in recent weeks after their Arabian Gulf League defence ended in a dreadful seventh place.

    As well as earning a 10th appearance in the decider of the UAE’s most prestigious competition, they made the most of a first-ever entry into the AFC Champions League knockout stages by securing a quarter-final spot at perennial rivals Al Ain’s expense last week.

    This brilliant recent run has changed the mood around the club, but has come at a cost.

    Eight matches were played last month, with Olaroiu asking his tired squad to dig deep once again for tonight’s meeting with Al Nasr upon their return to the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in which they dumped out the Boss.

    He said: “The team is ready for the final match in the President’s Cup. We will try to keep up the same pace as in the previous games in the last period.

    “The players proved they have a strong will, especially against Dubai Club [they won 5-3 in the President’s Cup quarter-finals] and in the AFC Champions League against Al Ain. 

    “I hope to finish the season in a positive way and win the trophy.

    “We have to give our best. It is a very important game for us and everybody in the club is focusing on this game.

    “The players already have gone beyond the limits, to play important games in a very short period. We did not have enough time for training, but we still won and made it to the final.

    “We worked on recovering the players after the Al Dhafra game, to reach the final as fit as possible.”

    The glamour clash has extra resonance for midfielder Habib Fardan, coming at the end of his first term at Ahli following a high-profile Dh40 million summer move from the Blue Wave.

    The UAE star struggled to make an impact in his first few months as his new club limped out of the starting blocks.

    But both parties have turned around their fortunes since, a beautifully-weighted header to set-up striker Ahmed Khalil during Saturday’s 2-0 semi-final victory at Al Dhafra a highlight.

    “We are going through a very good period, we have played well in the last games but we have to continue the same way for this final match,” the 24-year-old said. 

    “The President’s Cup is a very valuable trophy and every player dreams of winning this trophy.

    “I haven’t spoken to them [Al Nasr] about the match but they are like my brothers.

    “At this moment, I am happy being at Al Ahli – we have to prove to the fans that we can win this title. I wish to have our fans support, their support and effort was a main factor for reaching to what we have reached now.”

    Victory for Ahli will secure a record ninth President’s Cup, seeing them move one ahead of Sharjah.

    But Olaroiu was under no illusion about the difficulty of the task against opponents who have already lifted this term’s Arabian Gulf Cup, as well as drawing with and beating them in the 2014/15 top flight.

    He said: “Al Nasr is a very good team and they are improving game after game. They have good quality players and a great coach.

    “They will play to win as well. I expect a very tough game against one of the best teams in UAE.”

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