Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has admitted to showing anger towards his players following their comeback victory over Al Mokawloon Al Arab SC.
The Red Eagles were 2-0 down at half time, but goals from Taher Mohamed Taher, Mohamed Sherif, and Mohamed Magdy Afsha, helped them come from behind to secure a 3-2 victory over Arab Contractors.
Al Ahly remain unbeaten atop the Egyptian Premier League standings with 20 points after eight games, one point ahead of second-placed Zamalek, who have a game in hand.
However, Mosimane admits that despite his side going two goals down in the first half, his players managed to pull a sensational comeback to snatch all three points.
‘I don’t think the two halves of the match were different because we were able to create chances in both of them,’ Pitso said during the post-match media conference.
‘In the first half, we created a lot of opportunities in the first 10-15 minutes, and we should have taken advantage of them. This also happened in the Bank Al Ahly game.
‘This means that there is a problem and we must address it.
‘I think we like to play under pressure. Today we were able to come back in the result and win, and this is dangerous because it may not happen next time.
‘But the positive part is the spirit of the players and the fight and always having faith in our ability to win,’ he added.
‘Since my arrival in Egypt, I have not gotten angry at the players as much as today. I always try to be calm, but today we were not good,’ he continued.
‘I must also praise the technical staff because we made some strange decisions that changed the way we play. We took different decisions, but they had positive consequences.
‘I changed the way of playing three times in the second half and we were running against time. We had to score quick goals to turn the game around.
‘At one point, I made Afsha play in the No 8 position instead of 10, and pushed Marwan Mohsen and Mohamed Sherif as strikers.
‘I also put Hamdi Fathi in the defensive line, and we sometimes played 3-4-3.
‘He did not play poorly, he was unlucky because we did not defend well. He didn’t make any mistakes in the two goals we conceded.
‘Some people told me that there is a penalty kick that was not awarded to us, I did not watch it yet. I will watch the replay at home, but I will not comment on the referees’ decisions,’ he concluded.
