Ahly coach blames refereeing mistakes for goalless draw with Tunisia's Esperance
Ahmed Abd El Rasoul, Saturday 5 May 2018
The Reds failed to capitalise on their dominant position, especially in the second half, and had a goal disallowed for striker Marwan Mohsen to pass their third game without a taste of victory


Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry has blamed refereeing mistakes for Friday's 0-0 draw against Tunisia's Esperance, insisting that his team was the best but would need media support in the coming period to continue their African Champions League title campaign successfully.

"I would like to thank the players for their effort to deliver a strong game. We dominated the match, but the opponent intended to play harshly and also to waste time (about 27 minutes)," El-Badry said in the after-match press conference.

"We played with a striking and organised strategy. We created many chances and we were the better.

"We play through difficult circumstances as we miss some key players due to injury, but all the players did their best," added the coach who recently led Ahly to win their 38thEgyptian Premier League title.

The eight-time African Champions, Ahly, hosted the Tunisian team in the group stage opener of the prestigious African tournament.

The Reds failed to capitalise on their dominant position, especially in the second half, and had a goal disallowed for striker Marwan Mohsen to pass their third game without a taste of victory.

"Ahly's right is wasted because of refereeing mistakes. The media should stand behind us and play a role to stop this," El-Badry said.

"They chose the same referee of last season's match and so the mistakes were repeated.

"What happened today is always repeated in Champions League matches and i talked about that in the pre-match press conference. Marwan's goal is 100 percent correct. Sometimes the assistant becomes more dangerous than the main referee.

"Playing inside the pitch is not the only decider of winning the African title. I won't speak anymore," he concluded.

With one point each, Ahly and Esperance are behind group leaders Township Rollers who defeated Kampala City FC 1-0 on Friday.

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