Juan Carlos Garrido (Photo: AP)
Ahly's Spanish coach Juan Carlos Garrido believes players did their best during the 2-1 loss to Ragaa in the Red Devils' first game in the Egyptian Premier League on Thursday.
Emad Meteb canceled Amr Menoufy's 76th minute goal only three minutes later, but the second-half substitute had the killer shot in the 92nd minute to fire the Matrouh-based team to the top of the table with nine points.
"I congratulate Ragaa for winning the game but I think the game result is unfair as we deserve the victory," Garrido told the post-game press conference.
The Cairo giants' coach started the game with his custom 4-3-3 formation with new defender Sherif Hazem making his debut on the right flank, replacing right wing-back Bassem Aly who is serving a one-month suspension.
"We deserve to win the three points of the game specially in the second half as we dominated the game and lost more score chances," he added.
Ahly started the game with an early press for a quick goal. They dominated the game in terms of possession but failed to break through their rivals' compact defence.
"I am satisfied with the players' performance throughout the game despite the loss," the Ahly coach concluded.
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