Al-Badri rues leniency, Santos boss ecstatic

Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri put his side's defeat at Santos in the CAF Confederation Cup down to 'leniency and lack of concentration', while home side coach Mario Clado was elated at his team's 'remarkable feat'.

كتب : Sherif Tarek

الأحد، 31 مايو 2009 - 22:28
Ahli assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri put his side's defeat at Santos in the CAF Confederation Cup down to 'leniency and lack of concentration', while home side coach Mario Clado was elated at his team's 'remarkable feat'.

The Red Devils came on in Sunday's game with a three-goal cushion from the first leg, but were surprisingly condemned to a 3-0 loss at the Angolan outfit.

Santos eventually booked a place in the group stage after sealing a 6-5 penalty shootout win to leave the Cairo outfit dumbstruck.

"Our leniency and lack of concentration resulted in the loss. Our players were clearly off-form and they are all to blame for the defeat," Al-Badri told Ahli's official website.

"They underestimated their opponents, especially after the first leg 3-0 win that earned them a lot of confidence.

"I warned them of such an attitude ahead of the trip to Angola. The 3-0 win was a good result but not nearly conclusive."

Remarkable Feat

On the other hand, Mario Calado voiced his satisfaction over his team's display against Ahli.

"Qualifying for the group stage at the expense of Ahli is definitely a remarkable feat," he said after the game.

"This victory is a motive for us to make more progress in the competition (Confederation Cup).

"Before the game, I called on the players to put their drubbing in the first leg aside and focus on the return leg.

"We prepared well for the match and managed to figure out the weaknesses and strengths of all Ahli's players."