Al Jazira boss Henk ten Cate blamed a “bridge too far” after his drained charges fell to a gallant 4-1 defeat to Mexico’s Pachuca in the Club World Cup’s third-place play-off.
The depleted Pride of Abu Dhabi’s incredible – and landmark – run in the capital came to a blunt end on Saturday night. The CONCACAF Champions League holders raced away at 1-1 in the second half against opponents whose energy reserves had been utterly drained by shocking the globe in pushing eventual winners Real Madrid all the way in Wednesday’s memorable semi-final, never mind the preceding victories against Urawa Red Diamonds and Auckland City.
Promising playmaker Khalfan Mubarak drew the hosts level close to the hour mark with a firm dispatching of a rebound, this being required after reserve centre-back Saif Khalfan’s indecision allowed Uruguay winger Jonathan Urretaviscaya to slot in. But the floodgates would then open, Argentina forward Franco Jara converting a delightful cross, 17-year-old substitute Roberto de la Rosa calmly finishing a one-on-one and superb Chile attacker Angelo Sagal rounding it off with a penalty.
“You could see after one hour the tank was empty,” said Ten Cate of his Arabian Gulf League champions, who recorded the UAE’s highest-ever CWC finish. “This game was one bridge too far.
“I am sitting here and I am really proud of what the guys did. Before the tournament if anyone said we’d play for the third and fourth place, I would have started laughing.
“We missed some key players today, more than we already missed, it was just too much. Pachuca were way better than us.”
Pachuca’s pedigree and extra energy made them comfortable winners. There was still a tinge of regret for coach Diego Alonso after his charges missed out on a final spot, thanks to a painful 1-0 extra-time loss to Copa Libertadores winners Gremio.
He said: “Of course, we are happy to be third and on the podium among the best three clubs in the world. It is better for our club history to be in the awards ceremony.
“I think we deserved better, we did a lot of work before the tournament.”
📸3📸 صور مباراة #الجزيرة_باتشوكا التي اقيمت اليوم في ملعب مدينة زايد الرياضية في اليوم الأخير من #كاس_العالم_للاندية 2017 pic.twitter.com/bAx6CWaZVc
— نادي الجزيرة 🇦🇪الفخر العالمي🏆 (@AlJazira_uae) December 16, 2017
