Al Hilal coach Ramon Diaz vowed his side will not give up on the defence of the Asian Champions League title despite surrendering an early lead and seeing Salem Al Dawsari sent off in their 1-1 draw with Urawa Red Diamonds in the final’s first leg.
Al Dawsari displayed the best and worst of his game at Riyadh’s King Fahad International Stadium on Saturday, putting Al Hilal in front in the 13th minute only to be sent off with four minutes remaining for kicking out at Urawa’s Ken Iwao.
The red card came after Shinzo Koroki had levelled for the Japanese club eight minutes into the second half to leave the tie finely balanced going into the return leg at Saitama Stadium outside Tokyo next Saturday. “We started the match very well, we were good offensively and deservingly scored,” Diaz said.
“However, this is the nature of a final and mistakes can complicate matters. “The final isn’t over yet. This final is over two matches and we will fight till the end.”
Al Dawsari, a talismanic figure for Al Hilal who scored the winner in Saudi Arabia’s shock 2-1 victory over Argentina at the World Cup last year, will not be available for the second leg as the Riyadh club chase a record-extending fifth Asian crown.
“There was some confusion after Urawa equalised and then came Al Dawsari’s red card but we still had chances to score,” Diaz said. “We haven’t given up hope and will do our best to be Asian champions again.”
Urawa go into the second leg holding a slender advantage due to Koroki’s away goal. Coach Maciej Skorza, leading his team in the competition for the first time, praised his players’ battling performance.
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“It is a very good result for us and I have great respect for the Urawa players as they fought till the end despite it being such a tough match,” said the Polish coach, who was appointed to lead Urawa in December.
“This experience was crucial for the players and it was also a learning experience for me as well. We have learnt so much from this for the second leg and we are very hopeful of getting a result at Saitama next week.”
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