Al Nasr, Bani Yas lock horns in key AGL clash

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Al Nasr coach Ramon Diaz stressed the importance of their match against Bani Yasin the AGL, not only for the two teams, but the bearing that the match will have on the table.

Al Nasr are at the fourth spot three points adrift of second-placed Bani Yas. Al Nasr, who are training third-placed Sharjah, have 36 points in the kitty while Bani Yas have procured 39 points to occupy second spot.

“This match is of paramount importance for both the teams. But the result of the match will have bearing on the top-half of the table and will change the dynamics completely.

“We have to continue our winning streak to prove our credentials for the title push. So we will enter the match with a positive attitude with high spirit and play a firebrand football from the first minutes,” said Diaz.

He also predicted a tough match saying that Bani Yas are very a strong opponents and playing at their home ground makes it all the more difficult.

“We are ready for the match. All the players are arring to go with a positive attitude. The team is psychologically and technically ready for this match. We seek to achieve a positive result in order to continue with the same image that the team showed in the past matches,” added Diaz.

“I have previously explained we don’t want to depend on a few player but we have a large pool of players to pick from. We believe in rotational policy and keep the players ready by giving them the match practice by substituting them. We have a very good bench strength. We want to try them all,” he added.

“A player or two may be absent from the team, but no one notices this on the field due to the presence of an efficient substitute,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Bani Yas coach Daniel Isaila also described the match as one of the toughest encounters against one of the best teams in the league.

“It is going to be tough clash as Al Nasr are very good team and in the best of the form. They are coming into the match on the back of a victory against Sharjah so their morale must be very high,” said Isaila.

"We have seen them playing many times. They have very good line-up of players. They have very strong attack and organised attack. So we have to create a balance between defence and attack," he added.

“But we ae also in goof form and won both our last matches. Our confidence is high and we are ready for the match. We will try to collect all three points.” “Khaled Al Attas will miss the rest of the season after suffering from an injury that cut the cruciate ligament in the last match against Ittihad Kalba. We wish him safety and a speedy recovery and returning to the stadiums soon,” he added.