Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira coach Henk ten Cate has targeted victory over Pakhtakor in Group C of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday, despite the club from the United Arab Emirates already being eliminated from the competition.
The Abu Dhabi-based side have just one point from the first four match days of the 2016 edition of the continental club championship and Ten Cate’s side will go into the game without suspended duo Musallem Fayez and Fares Juma.
“We want to get a victory from the match tomorrow in order to improve our position in the group,” said the Dutchman (pictured), whose team won 3-2 over Al Shaab in domestic duty on Thursday. “We have a desire to win the match although we will give the chance to several new players to prepare them for the remaining local matches.
“We played with different defensive tactics in the previous matches due to the absence of certain players, whether due to injuries or suspensions, and this affected us as we conceded several goals.”
Pakhtakor must win to have any hope of going into the final round of group matches with a chance of booking a place in the Round of 16. The Uzbek club are four points behind Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal and an additional point adrift of leaders Tractorsazi Tabriz from Iran.
However, Numon Khasanov’s team have struggled recently and have not picked up three points since March 15 in any competition, drawing their last three games in the Uzbek league. Their last win in any competition was in the AFC Champions League when they defeated leaders Tractorsazi.
“We came to Abu Dhabi to win and defeat Al Jazira in order to remain in contention for a place in the knockout stage,” said the club’s assistant coach Grigoriy Kolosovskiy. “We still have a chance to advance and we’ll wait for the result of the other match.
“We want to have a better performance than the previous matches in order to achieve a positive result. The match will not be easy because Al Jazira have no pressure and they are playing at home and in front of their fans.”
Photo: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com