Titu laments missed chances
Abahani coach Saiful Bari Titu lamented his forwards' failure to capitalise on the scoring opportunities following a narrow defeat against New Radiant SC of Maldives in their opening AFC Cup fixture yesterday.
Nigerian striker Sunday Chizoba, who scored nine goals to help Abahani retain the professional league title, squandered two good opportunities while his compatriot Emeka Darlington's effort was ruled out due to off-side.
“We had a strong willingness to do well in this match and to come out of the losing streak against Maldivian sides, but you know the desire will not come true unless you score. We could not score despite creating a few scoring chances,” Titu said. “Sunday should have finished the chance that he created in the first half and his second chance was also not capitalised even though our plan of midfield-pressing was working nicely.
“I am really disappointed with the outcome. We have to come out of the losing streak at international level because no one likes this situation,” said Titu, who believed Abahani's chances of a comeback after conceding the lead ended when Sunday was sent off in the second half.
New Radiant SC coach Oscar Bruzon admitted that they had a tough game, but he is happy to return home with three points.
“We had a tough time in the first 20 minutes as the opponents were very physical but then we built up and controlled the game. The second half was the same picture again, but we established our control yet again. The last 30 minutes were very tough for Abahani after a red card was shown to one of their players. We are happy to take full three points because they are tough opponents,” said Oscar.
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