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Belgian Vercauteren happy with victory; Hecksberger stresses need to prepare players for the Etisalat Pro- League

Al Jazira's Belgian coach Franky Vercauteren confirmed the importance of his team's  2-1 victory over Al Wahda in the second round match of the Etisalat Cup Competition  which was held yesterday at Al Nahyan Stadium  in Abu Dhabi, expressing his joy with his players' display, especially after finishing the game with only  ten players from the 20th  minute.

Speaking in the post press conference Vercauteren said: "I am very pleased with this win. The team played well despite of finishing the game with one man less from the 20th minute. The players did not give up and deserved to win with all respect to Al Wahda.". He pointed out that he spoke to his players after the break and asked them to forget the sent off of their colleague Subait Khatir as thinking on this case will lead them to inconcentration.

Vercauteren refused to comment on the decisions taken by the match referee Hamad   Al Sheikh, saying: "I have no comment on the decisions taken by the referee as the referee is just a part of the game, and therefore we have to respect his decisions." He disclosed the secret behind his team's win despite of the early midfielder Subait Khatir's sent off noting that the organized performance at the level of defence and the midfield lines in addition to the players' determination to achieve a good result, were the two reasons that helped them to win the three points.

Franky Vercauteren pointed to the potentials of his team which will appear in the forthcoming weeks assuring that the team is improving from one game to another. He declared that luck has served both teams as their players had squandered a number of scoring opportunities during the match.

On the other hand Al Wahda's Austrian coach Hecksberger said:" I asked my players after the interval to play seriously, but Al Jazira played with five defenders in the second session and changed the tactics they have applied in the first half and their high concentration, despite of the shortage of players, led them to win the three points".

Hecksberger was worried about the result of the match, noting that the secret behind Al Jazira' success was due to the Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira, who proved to be a player of high style and deserve to play previously with the Italian AC Milan team under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti.

He revealed that Al Wahda's players had mere confidence to win the game, especially after their superiority in the Etisalat Cup over Al Jazira and their brilliant display and win against Al Ain in the first round of the Etisalat Cup last week.

Hecksberger spoke about the substitution he made during the match saying:" I brought in Bayano to replace Ismail Matar and get the help of substitute Saeed Al Katheri in the frontline as both players "Ismail and Bayano" could not complete the game. I also fielded in Amer Omar to substitute Yaagoub Al Hosani to create enough space for the Brazilian striker Hugo to move on, but all the changes did not work".

Al Wahda's coach stressed that he will work hard with the attackers in the upcoming period. He said:" Bayano did not train for 4 months and Ismail Matar is not yet fully prepared. We have to benefit from the matches of the Etisalat Cup Championship and prepare the players in a better shape for the Etisalat Pro-League Competition".