Al Ahli boss Cosmin Olaroiu conceded his side required a huge slice of luck to come away from a drab Dubai derby against Al Nasr with all three points.
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The meeting between the second and third-placed clubs in the Arabian Gulf League featured a controversial Moussa Sow opener for the hosts at Rashid Stadium in which replays showed the ball didn’t fully cross the line and a legitimate goal from winger Jonathan Pitroipa which would have put the Blue Wave 2-1 up incorrectly flagged for offside.
“What I can say, from the beginning of the season, this is the mostlucky win,” said Olaroiu. “We didn’t play how we want. “Actually, from what we talk and what we play, there was a big difference. But, we scored in the right moment.
Dreadful first half is brought to merciful end. All square in dull Dubai derby, @19Sow for #AlAhli & #Nilmar for @ALNasrSC @Sport360
— Matt Monaghan (@mattmonaghan360) December 11, 2015
Another poor half followed, with #AlAhliUAE doing just enough with Abbas and Lima’s goals to seal a 3-1 win v @ALNasrSC @Sport360
— Matt Monaghan (@mattmonaghan360) December 11, 2015
“At least, we defended well and we didn’t concede a goal in the second half. But, what I can say is that it’s a difficult situation – the players are very tired.
“I will try my best all the time but sometimes they have limits, they are human beings and they have limits.”
The 2015 AFC Champions League finalists’ 3-1 triumph saw them rebound from last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at champions Al Ain, with forward Sow’s strike and UAE defender Walid Abbas’ incredible volleyed second coming from set-pieces.
Opposition boss Ivan Jovanovic was magnanimous in defeat. He said: “Always when a game is finished, we can say the result is a fair result, but after the image of the game it’s very hard for us. In most of the game, we had a good game and Al Ahli took advantage of two set pieces.”
