Returning Al Jazira boss Abel Braga will not press the panic button despite a shaky start to the season.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi made it just two wins from eight games in all competitions last night following a hectic 2-2 draw against Bani Yas. The visitors were guilty of both sloppy finishing and slack defending and wilted under a second-half onslaught when 2-0 ahead.
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A forward line containing Peru’s Jefferson Farfan, UAE hot shot Ali Mabkhout and last term’s Arabian Gulf League top-scorer Mirko Vucinic was tipped to ensure a glorious comeback for Braga, but he highlighted wastefulness in front of goal when dissecting the manic Arabian Gulf League-contest.
“It is still early in the season and these results haven’t dented our ambitions of staying positive about our league aspirations,” said the Brazilian, who previously bossed Jazira from 2008-11.
“This was not a game we deserved to lose because we had three straight chances to score from our forwards, and we missed all of them.”
Last term’s second-placed finishers have now gone more than a month without tasting victory.
Despite boasting fearsome firepower, 63-year-old Braga chose to remove Vucinic, Mabkhout and €11 million (Dh45m) Brazil playmaker Thiago Neves in the last quarter.
Defending his decisions, he said: “We tried something different when things were not going well for us. We brought some fresh legs in attack to push for the winner but still we couldn’t score.”
Opposite number Luis Garcia was in a much more positive mood, boosted no doubt by Ishak Belfodil and Joaquin Larrivey’s strikes.
A dramatic improvement in the Spaniard’s second term looks likely after he could only attain eighth spot in 2014-15.
He said: “I think we were a bit unlucky not to score at least one goal in the first half, but my players more than made up for that in the second half.
“It was a good entertaining match for the fans. I thought the game will end up 4-4 because both teams created many chances throughout the game – I’m satisfied with a point with Jazira.”
Jazira head to champions Al Ain on Friday, with Bani Yas travelling to strugglers Al Dhafra on Saturday.