Cosmin Olaroiu was satisfied with a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the AFC Champions League semi-final, as Al Ahli left Saudi Arabia with a positive result and an away goal.
In what was expected to be a difficult tie in Riyadh, inside the raucous King Fahd Stadium, the Red Knights can count themselves
Ahli’s Romanian coach Olaroiu was pleased with the performance of his side in trying circumstances.
– ACL: Lima goal secures vital away draw for Al Ahli
“We did not expect it to be an easy game as we know that they (Al Hilal) have a good team and quality players and their super fans made it difficult for us to control the ball possession,” said the 46-year-old.
“But we succeeded in doing what we wanted to do by staying in right position and we scored but we were not able to win.”
After Lima’s opener for the visitors, Hilal were handed a lifeline when they were
awarded a penalty with 25 minutes remaining, Salmeen Khamis handling the ball when it was not deemed to have gone out of play.
Carlos Eduardo’s spot kick struck a post as Ahli felt vindicated, but Ailton Almeida’s late header secured a draw.
Everton Ribeiro had two glorious chances to score a winner late on for the Red Knights but after being released by Lima his first effort was blocked by the legs of Hilal goalkeeper Khaled Sharahili, who then thwarted the Brazilian’s follow-up effort.
Olaroiu said a second goal would have perhaps given his side the advantage heading into the second leg, but was satisfied with the result.
He said: “We had a chance to score at the end of the game and it would have changed the equation a little bit, but overall it is a positive result but not enough to qualify.
“We have one match left back home to prepare for.”
