25 attempts on Khor Fakkan’s goal are not enough for Al Wasl to win

Al-Wasl team’s coach, Portuguese coach Luis Castro, expressed his disappointment after Al-Emperor tied with Khor Fakkan with a goal for each team, the day before yesterday, in the seventh round of the ADNOC Professional League, stressing that the result does not reflect the amount of effort Al-Wasl made during the match, especially in the second half, which witnessed a clear improvement in performance compared to the beginning, pointing out that the team made 25 attempts on goal that were not enough to achieve victory.

Castro said in the press conference after the match that his team did not perform at the required level in the first half of the match, noting that the players seemed hesitant to make decisions and were unable to impose their usual style on the field.

He added: “The first half was not good at all in terms of organization, pressure and passes, which allowed Khor Fakkan to control some periods of play and exploit opportunities better.”

The coach explained that the team improved significantly in the second half, after making some tactical adjustments that gave the players greater freedom in offensive movement, which resulted in scoring the equalizer and restoring some of Al Wasl’s usual offensive rhythm.

He pointed out that the team created more than 25 attempts on goal, but they did not translate into goals, due to the lack of success in front of the goal, saying that the ball did not do them justice this time, despite all the effort made.

Castro stressed that a slight feeling of unfairness afflicted everyone within the team, because the final result did not reflect the extent of control and opportunities that were wasted, and he stressed that the players tried until the last moments to score the winning goal, but haste and lack of concentration in the final touch prevented that.

The coach also spoke about the psychological impact of the team’s exit from the President’s Cup tournament against Dibba Al-Fujairah, and said: “The loss negatively affected the team’s mental state, and led to the emergence of a kind of loss of confidence in some situations during the match, but at the same time the team has sufficient quality to overcome this stage quickly.”

Castro concluded his statements by emphasizing the need to turn the page on the tie, and begin immediately preparing for the next match against Al-Muharraq of Bahrain in the AFC Champions League 2, scheduled for next Wednesday, considering that it is a confrontation no less important than the league matches. He said: “The team is required to regain confidence and focus, because all matches require full mental presence and investing in every opportunity to achieve victory, and we have great confidence in the players’ ability to correct the course and return to the path of victories in the coming period.”