Al Jazira boss blames fatigue for ACL exit

23 May 2012 05:34

Al Jazira coach Caio Junior claimed 'tiredness' cost his team a place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.

Al Jazira lost 4-2 on penalties to Al Ahli on Tuesday night to end their continental adventure in the Round of 16.

The 2010-11 UAE champions and Saudi King's Cup winners had been locked at 3-3 after 120 minutes, before the dreaded shootout where ACL top-scorer Ricardo Oliveira and veteran defender Lucas Neill missed spot-kicks, before Victor Simoes converted the decisive strike.

Al Jazira's Brazilian boss apologised after his side conceded in the 118th minute in extra-time but said fatigue and the weather had affected his players after a long season.

"We are very sorry to concede the goal two minutes before the end," he said.

"Many things happened in the game, the issue of tiredness of the players.

"The weather was very hot. We tried substitutions to control the situation, but some players felt tiredness at the end of the game. So for that they have merit in this match."

Al Ahli boss Karel Jarolim was delighted with the triumph and said researching Al Jazira's strengths and weaknesses was a key to their victory after the six-goal thriller.

"We have studied Al Jazira well and this helped us to win against them," he said.

"We knew that they have a strong attack, but at the same time they are not good on the defensive side and we used this to get back into the game more than once."