Al Wahda coach Reghecampf confident of strong showing against Al Ahly

Al Wahda coach Laurentiu Reghecampf said that it was not over just yet after the loss to Algeria's NA Hussein Dey in the Arab Club Championship opener and added that his lads will put up a fight against Egypt's Al Ahly.

The Clarets go up against Al Ahly, the record Egyptian Premier League champions, at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday night. It is a must-win game for both if they hope to qualify for the semifinals from Group A.

Al Wahda suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of NA Hussein Dey, a match that saw them being reduced to 10 men after Argentine striker Sebastian Tagliabue was sent off and young midfielder Khalid Bawazir was laid low by a neck injury.

Meanwhile, Al Ahly, the home favourites, were stunned by Jordan's Al Faisaly. It means Al Ahly and Al Wahda, the Arabian Gulf League's UAE representative, are placed third and fourth respectively.

But former Steaua Bucharest and Al Hilal coach Reghecampf, who took over from Javier Aguirre in the summer, felt that his side will be able to put up a strong show against Al Ahly on the morrow.

"We know that the match against Al Ahly will be difficult because they are motivated to win in front of their home fans after losing to Al Faisaly. But we have worked on raising the fitness of the players and I'm counting on them to make a strong showing against Al Ahly," Reghecampf said at his pre-match press briefing on Monday.

"There have been injuries and suspensions but we have to put that aside and do our best to win the next game and pick up the three points," the 41-year-old Romanian added.

Reghecampf was also buoyed by the addition of the Olympic team players - Mohamed Hassan Al Shamsi, Mohammad Abdul Basit and Mohamed Rashid Al Hammadi - to the squad.

Meanwhile, defender Hamdan Al Kamali said that the team still harboured hopes of reaching the next round. "It is a very important game for us. We still believe that we can qualify for the semifinals," said Al Kamali.

Meanwhile, Al Ahly general coach Ahmed Ayoub said that his side will try to make amends after that loss to Al Faisaly, when they take on Al Wahda.

"We will fight in the remaining two matches in order to make the fans happy and qualify for the second round," Ayoub said.

Ayoub said that they have no other alternative but to come up with a victory against Al Wahda.

The Al Wahda squad took in the sights of Cairo and visited the Egyptian Museum on Sunday.

Al Ahly, meanwhile, underwent a training session behind closed doors on Monday.

Source: Khaleej Times