(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Al Jazira coach Jurgen Streppel heaped praise on his players as they opened their Arabian Gulf League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Al Dhafra, a press release said.
In Thursday's clash at Mohammed bin Zayed stadium, Mohamed Al Attas opened the scoring in the first-half before Keno's strike deep into stoppage time secured maximum points.
Streppel was happy with the result and was particularly pleased with how his players controlled the match.
"To start the league with a win is very good. I was happy with how we controlled the first-half as we had a lot of possession and our hard work saw us take the lead," said the Dutchman during his post-match press conference.
"We were excellent with our set-pieces and that was a big positive. As the match went on, we kept improving although Al Dhafra made it difficult. However, we scored again and I must say I was very happy to see our players earn the win."
Al Jazira fans also saw Omar Abdulrahman play for the first time after coming on as a second-half substitution while playmaker Khalfan Mubarak and young striker Zayed Al Ameri also came off the bench.
Streppel was happy to give both players minutes but emphasised the victory was a team effort. "Khalfan Mubarak, Omar Abdulrahman and Zayed Al Ameri played very well but everyone in the squad deserves credit following our performance today," he said.
"We win matches together and it is good to have players on the bench who can make a difference."
Despite the positive result, Streppel stressed the importance for Al Jazira to focus on each game at it comes.
"We want to win every game and we still have a lot to improve on," he said. "We don't want to talk about the season ahead or winning the league. Our aim is to win every game we play and that is very important."
MENAFN2009201900490000ID1099031457
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.