Ahly needs more time, work to deliver better performances (Photo: Ahly Official Website)
Egyptian champions Ahly still needs more time and hard work to deliver better performances in the future, according to coach Patrice Carteron, who heaped praise on his attacking duo Walid Azaro and Salah Mohsen after the Haras El-Hodoud win.
Two second-half goals by Mohsen and Ali Maaloul gave Ahly a 2-0 win over promoted Haras El-Hodoud in Alexandria on Friday; the team's third successive league victory.
"We play a match every three or four days, and we also miss some players due to fatigue or not playing regularly, so harmony doesn't exist," Carteron said in the press conference after the match.
"We need to work on strengthening our attacking line and having better harmony between our players," he added.
Ahly moved to the top with 10 points from four games, while Hodoud remain third from bottom with only one point.
"All the players don't play with each other regularly and that always affects our performance, especially in the first half. But at the same time we have a solid defence line that stops the danger from our opponents," the former Mazembe and Wadi Degla coach explained.
After Friday's domestic victory against Haras El-Hodoud, Ahly are ending the Group A competition of the CAF Champions League next Tuesday, hosting Uganda's Kampala City.
"Ahly was at the bottom of the group when I took the charge, but I believe in Ahly and its fans. I am not stupid to imagine that we don't need extra work, but everything needs time," the 48-year-old Carteron said.
"Having Walid Azaro and Salah Mohsen on the frontline will lead us to fruitful results in the future," he concluded.
The record eight-time Champions League winners Ahly, who missed out on a ninth triumph after losing to Morocco's Wydad in last year's final, are joint leaders with Esperance with 10 points, seven clear of Uganda's Kampala City and Botswana's Township Rollers, who only have two matches to play.
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