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| AFC Champions League |
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| Yabroudi rues first leg failure |
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| Karama coach Osama Yabroudi said the first leg defeat at home effectively killed the Syrian side's chances of a place in the ACL semi-finals (AFP) |
OSAKA – Osama Yabroudi lamented his Al Karama side's first-leg failure after exiting the AFC Champions League following a 2-0 quarter-final second leg loss to Gamba Osaka at Expo ’70 Commemorative Stadium.
The Syrian side had their backs to the wall after a 2-1 loss in Homs last week and although they held the hosts scoreless for much of the match, goals by Masato Yamazaki and Roni in the final seven minutes ultimately condemned them to a 4-1 aggregate defeat.
“Of course it was always going to be tough for us after losing the first leg at home and knowing that we had to score two goals here to have a chance of going through,” said Yabroudi.
“We did our best in tonight’s match and I thought that we were still okay at half-time with the score at 0-0.
“We tried to get a goal in the second half but it didn’t work out and we conceded two right at the end.”
Yabroudi has only been in charge since August following the sudden departure of Mohammed Kwid.
Given the lack of time that he has had to work on preparing the players during what is essentially their off-season, he felt that it was always going to be tough for his team against a well prepared Gamba side.
“I don’t think that we ever managed to implement our game plan successfully and show what we were capable of doing over the two legs,” he added.
“As you know, the club has been through a difficult time in the past couple of months with our coach Mohammed Kwid leaving along with four key players including our Brazilian defender Fabio Santos.
“We only had two months to prepare for this tie and it has not been easy for the players because it is our off-season in Syria. They tried hard and did their best but in the end it was not enough.
“Gamba were in better shape because they have been playing regularly in their league and so they were the better prepared team over the two legs.”
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