Head coach Jurgen Streppel said his players can be proud of their efforts and felt Al Jazira should have won their clash against Shabab Al Ahli following their 0-0 draw in the Arabian Gulf League.
Al Jazira put on a spirited display in Thursday’s match at Mohammed bin Zayed stadium with Ali Mabkhout coming closest to breaking the deadlock when his free-kick hit the post against the Dubai-based outfit.
While the result leaves The Pride of Abu Dhabi in fourth position in the standings, Streppel was particularly pleased by how his players responded following last week’s defeat.
“Today I saw my team willing to fight for each other to get a victory,” said the Dutchman during the post-match press conference.
“We did not give up and wanted to win. We created good chances and were good on the counter-attack. Although we didn’t win the game, my players showed great spirit to try and win the game and should be proud of their efforts. We deserved to get all three points but we didn’t and that is part of football.”
Streppel admitted his side needs to be more clinical in front of goal if they want to claim maximum points.
“I am glad we created many opportunities but was unfortunately denied by a few centimetres today when Mabkhout hit the post. Having said that, we know we have to improve in front of goal. We will work on that in training and do our utmost best to turn it around.”
The match also saw Keno come off injured in the first-half. Streppel was disappointed to lose the Brazilian attacker who will undergo tests on Friday to determine the extent of the injury.
“We will see how serious it is after he goes for the tests,” he added. “Today he was very dangerous. If he kept on playing, he would have caused more problems for Shabab Al Ahli and I hope he will recover soon.”
