Riyadh: Urawa Red Diamonds go into next week’s AFC Champions League final second leg buoyed with the 1-1 draw at the ground of their Saudi opponents Al Hilal.
Urawa’s Takafumi Hori conceded that his side escaped an encounter where they were second-best throughout with minimal damage.
Rafael Silva’s first half strike means a goalless draw at home will be enough for the Japanese side to lift their second AFC Champions League trophy next week.
Omar Khribin cancelled out the Brazilian’s goal before the break to set up a tight affair in Saitama, and coach Hori has no doubt that his side need to put in a much better performance if they are to overcome Al Hilal.
“I am happy that we got a 1-1 draw away from home. It is a good result for us against a very good Al Hilal side,” said the Urawa boss.
“They dominated possession and applied a lot of pressure on us, but our players defended well, and I am thankful to them.
“We went through difficult periods in this game. But the second game will be something different in front of our own supporters. We will put in a different performance.”
Al Hilal enjoyed the bulk of possession, and repeatedly found space behind Urawa Red Diamond’s defence as right-back Mohammed Al Burayk set up multiple scoring opportunities but Omar Khribin and co were wasteful on the night.
The Saudi attacks concentrated on the left side of Urawa’s defence as left-back Tomoya Ugajin (pictured below, right) constantly lost his man, allowing Al Burayk space to threaten.
Hori was quick to defend his player, explaining that anyone is bound to have a bad day at the office at some point.
“It is not that we wanted to play defensively tonight, but in big games and finals you always need to have a solid defensive base,
“We work as a team, sometimes we go through difficult times like we did today under Al Hilal pressure. Sometimes a player is not doing well and his teammates have to carry him.”
The 50-year-old had already set his his sight on the return leg even as the team boarded the plane to Tokyo in the early hours of Sunday.
“We didn’t accomplish anything yet. We must remain focused in the second leg to get a result at home and lift the trophy.
"We got a good result today, but we cannot get complacent. We have strength at both ends of the field, but we didn’t show that today. In the second leg everything has to be different.”
Photos: Lagardère Sports, AFP
Source: the-afc.com