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England captain Andrew Strauss insists his team are focussed on the task of finishing their series against Sri Lanka on a high, despite India’s impending arrival

Andrew Miller at the Rose Bowl15-Jun-2011There was a peculiar atmosphere at the Rose Bowl on the eve of the third Test against Sri Lanka. The unfamiliarity of the venue contributed to a strange sense of detachment, as indeed did the persistent drizzle that limited the team’s practice and left players and journalists alike milling around in the pavilion foyer. For all the history that will be made on Thursday when England inaugurates its tenth Test venue, it was hard to escape the feeling that the summer had reached a hiatus – a calm before the Indian storm that is looming next month.No doubt the England team would wish to view this challenge differently, because as they’ve discovered to their cost in the past, any such notion tends to be corrosive, especially against opponents as traditionally under-estimated as Sri Lanka. After all, England have not beaten them in a Test series for the best part of a decade, and five years ago they came a cropper at the exact same stage of their three-match series, squandering a 1-0 lead as Muttiah Muralitharan tore through them at Trent Bridge.Nevertheless, as England welcome back their attack leader James Anderson after a side strain curtailed his game in Cardiff, Sri Lanka are facing up to the loss of their captain and leading run-scorer Tillakaratne Dilshan – with Kumar Sangakkara’s reluctant return to the helm adding a frisson of political intrigue to their preparations. They aren’t exactly a team in crisis just yet, but England have encountered happier tourists in recent years.From Andrew Strauss’s point of view, however, England are five days and 20 wickets from wrapping up a 2-0 series win, and nothing that has happened or been spoken since the end of the Lord’s Test need deflect them from their singular purpose – especially at a venue that has never before hosted a five-day contest, and will therefore involve a certain element of the unknown.”All our language throughout this series has been to not look too far ahead and not beyond each Test match,” said Strauss. “We come here with a good chance of finishing this series off on a high and winning 2-0, but Sri Lanka have shown enough in the first two games to show they are not a pushover by any means.”We’re going to have to work hard and both sets of players will have to adapt to the conditions here, which we’re not entirely sure how they are going to be,” he added. “In one sense home advantage of knowing the wicket here is slightly negated, so we’re going to have to work hard and earn the right to get on top.”Anderson’s impending return leaves England with a dilemma of sorts, given that one of the three pacemen who under-performed in the draw at Lord’s will have to make way in the starting XI. With 25 wickets in his last five Tests, Chris Tremlett’s position is secure for now, but neither Steven Finn nor Stuart Broad has anything like the same sort of job security.”It is always a tricky decision,” said Strauss. “I thought in the last game at Lord’s all our bowlers bowled some good spells at times, and some less good ones as well. We have to look at the wicket in the morning and decide what the best attack will be for this game, but this is a good position to be in. Even though we weren’t at our best at Lord’s, we had some good spells.”The probable man for the chop is Finn, who recovered from a shaky start to pick up four wickets in Sri Lanka’s first innings at Lord’s, but Broad’s recent Test form is the cause of some concern for the England management. A succession of injuries limited his participation in both the Ashes and the World Cup, and so far this series he has managed six wickets at 48.00, at a loose economy rate of 3.52.”We always want our bowlers to be taking wickets so from that point of view it is a concern, but he’s done a lot of good things,” said Strauss. “He’s gone past the bat a lot and the fact is we’ve got a good squad of bowlers and they’re all being pushed hard to make sure they keep performing.”The challenge for Stuart is to keep improving, but you also have to realise with bowlers that sometimes one guy will get the wickets, but the other bowls better. You have to look beyond how many wickets they’ve got, you have to look at how many balls they get in the right area.”The other man with a point to prove right now is the captain himself. Kevin Pietersen’s confident 72 at Lord’s alleviated the pressure on his position at No. 4, but with scores of 20, 4 and 0 in his three innings of the series to date, Strauss is aware that his own form is now under some scrutiny – especially after he was extracted by the left-armer Chanaka Welegedara in both his innings in the second Test.”I’m not sure it is right that someone is always under the spotlight, but that is the fact of it,” Strauss admitted. “I was frustrated with my returns at Lord’s, but it is the nature of the beast as an opening batsman. Sometimes you get a couple of good balls early.”But I’m very comfortable with my own game and I’m very comfortable with us as a batting unit, with six out of seven being in great fettle in the first two Tests. But now it is my turn to come to the party, there is no doubt about that.”Strauss’s batting form as England captain was exceptional in his first few outings, as he recorded four scores of 142 or more in eight Tests, including a matchwinning 161 against Australia at Lord’s in 2009. But since that innings he has reached a century on just one occasion in 33 attempts, despite passing fifty 11 times.”You can over-think these things a bit, but it is right I’ve scored a lot of fifties and not turned them into hundreds and that is something I’m determined to change,” he said. “[My conversion rate] has been one of my strengths and I need to find it again. As an opening batsman if you can get big hundreds then it sets the side up pretty well and that is the challenge for me.”But you’re never going to have all seven batsmen firing at the same time. That’s unrealistic,” he added. “I’ve just got to make are that I do everything I can to get back in the runs and get a hundred. This is Test cricket and there are hundreds of guys in county cricket who want your job, so you have to do everything you can to be successful.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers evaded a transfer curveball from Newcastle United in January when the Magpies attempted to sign two of the Old Gold’s most important players.

What’s the word?

That is according to The Athletic’s Tim Spiers who has claimed that Eddie Howe’s side were intent on signing the Old Gold duo in January, when they were in the depths of a relegation battle.

And even though Wolves managed to keep hold of their defensive assets, they may face a worry to keep the pair across this summer’s transfer window.

In the report for The Athletic, Spiers claimed: “Newcastle are the biggest transfer curveball the Premier League has experienced in some time and Wolves, like everyone else in the league, are distinctly aware of the money the Geordies’ new owners can now offer to try to prise clubs’ star assets away.

“Newcastle have already had an influence on Wolves’ business; it is believed they made enquiries for Kilman and Coady in January, tried to sign Botman and did sign Bruno Guimaraes of Lyon, a player Wolves had been courting.”

A scary summer

With Spiers’ latest report in mind, this summer’s transfer window could come with some scary propositions for the Wolves faithful, with the Molineux side already touted to lose Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Leander Dendoncker and Marcal who have all been linked with moves away.

Therefore, the last thing Old Gold fans will want is to lose their Captain in Coady and emerging star in Kilman.

Featuring as a starter in 88% of Wolves’ Premier League games this season, Kilman has asserted himself as a fully-fledged member of the first team, with his metrics backing up why that is the case. Whilst his defensive participations have been decent this season, it’s his ability in possession that has been valued by Lage. His match average 3.61 progressive carries has injected composure within the Wolves backline.

Paired with captain Coady, who has started every single game for Wolves in the league, the Old Gold have been afforded consistency and solidity at the back, with Lage’s side boasting the fourth best defence in the league this season with just 32 goals conceded as a result of 11 clean sheets.

As such, supporters will surely be incredibly worried about the prospect of yet more interest in the duo going forward.

Whilst it is hopefully not the case, you cannot argue that the project at Newcastle presents an exciting opportunity which is backed up by seemingly unlimited amounts of ambition an endless quantities of financial backing.

The Magpies will most likely continue to get stronger and recruit higher calibre players who are in the mould of Guimaraes. From the perspective of Kilman who is just 24-years-old, the project at St James’ Park could be the ideal way to raise his stock and elevate his game season on season amidst the recruitment of bigger names and better players.

In other news: Lage must unleash “unplayable” £25 million-rated reject, he’s better than Trincao

Prasanna Jayawardene has rued not being able to avoid the follow-on but said his team could finish on a positive note after the encouraging start provided by openers in the second innings

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Galle18-Nov-2010

Prasanna Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka wicketkeeper, has rued not being able to avoid the follow-on against West Indies in Galle but said his team could finish on a positive note after the encouraging start provided by openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana in the second innings. Prasanna, who was the last batsman to fall in the first innings, battled his way to 58 but holed out, top-edging a sweep, to Kemar Roach off the bowling of offspinner Shane Shillingford with the hosts just three runs short of avoiding the follow-on target of 381. But Sri Lanka finished the day on 89 without loss in the second innings, still 113 behind.”We wanted to save the follow-on but unfortunately it didn’t happen. Our openers have done well. If we can bat like this tomorrow in the first session we have a great chance to end up well,” Prasanna said. “Against the offspinner we were trying to sweep because I thought if I defended, there was a chance of a bat-pad catch. So I kept on sweeping. I wanted to sweep and get a four. If there was a single I wasn’t going to run. I was in too minds and as I swept the bat turned a bit and I got an edge.”I know that (Thilan) Thushara (the No.11 batsman) can bat, but the issue was that the offspinner bowled the best. You have to handle the pressure and I thought against the spinner I had to take strike.”Prasanna admitted the batsmen initially found it difficult to deal with Shillingford, who picked up four wickets. “When others bowl the offbreak they flight, but Shane darts the ball sending it down. There is a change in the way he bowls,” Prasanna said. “He was troubling us at the beginning, but as he got tired he failed to bowl a good line. Our openers had to issues tackling him in the second innings.”Sri Lanka had been struggling at 295 for 7 when Prasanna was joined by fast bowler Dammika Prasad, who supported him in a stand of 72 with a quickfire 47. “Dammika batted really well. There’s no point in blocking thinking of the follow-on. You have to be attacking. I thought both of us could avoid the follow-on but once Dammika got out we got into trouble.”The key to winning the series, Prasanna said, was to dismiss Chris Gayle, who smashed 333 in the first innings, early. “The lower order is not batting well and if we get Gayle I think we have a very good chance in the rest of the series.”Prasanna also acknowledged he was under pressure to perform, though he has represented Sri Lanka in 34 Tests so far in a staggered 10-year Test career. He scored a century during the tour of India last year in Ahmedabad, made 29 in the first Test against India in Galle this year and failed in the final Test of that drawn series at the P Sara Oval. “I didn’t get a chance to bat at SSC and in the third Test, I failed in both innings. Overall if you take my performances I have failed in those two innings only, but there’s always pressure for me to perform ahead of a Test,” he said.”It doesn’t affect me. I take it match by match and I try to give my best. My average is around 30 and if you can’t handle pressure you can’t play cricket. I started playing for the country in 2000 and I have always performed. It doesn’t bother me. I am used to pressure and I try to do well at every opportunity I get.”

New Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wants to be in charge of incoming and outgoing transfers at the club, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: New era at Old Trafford

The 52-year-old will head to Old Trafford at the end of the season, looking to bring the glory days back to United after a dismal few years for the Red Devils.

Ten Hag enjoyed great success during his time with Ajax, winning two Eredivisie titles, along with reaching the Champions League semi-finals back in 2018/19.

It is now nine years since United won a Premier League title and it is imperative that the rot stops sooner rather than later, with the 52-year-old hopefully the man to fix the club’s issues.

The Latest: Ten Hag makes key demand

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke claimed that Ten Hag wants to have a big say in which players leave and which individuals arrive this summer. The journalist outlined:

“He wants to be involved in the incomings and outgoings at Old Trafford, alongside Richard Arnold.

“If Ralf Rangnick is still there in an advisory capacity as well, I’m sure they’ll all be working together to see if they can get the best players to Manchester United because it’s going to take a bit of a rebuild at Old Trafford this summer.”

The Verdict: Makes complete sense

Part of United’s failure in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era is that it doesn’t always feel as though managers have had the final say over new signings.

That is something which simply has to change now, with Manchester City and Liverpool both perfect examples of allowing their managers to have a big say on transfer dealings. Painful as it is to admit for United, those two clubs are proof of that setup working.

It makes complete sense for Ten Hag to have exactly the players that he wants to work with, which could leave quite a few current Old Trafford individuals sweating going into the summer, given this season’s ineptitude.

In other news, United are expected to make an offer for a La Liga star. Find out who it is here.

Liverpool are eying a swoop for PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo in the summer transfer window.

What’s the Word?

That’s according to Dutch media outlet Voetbal, who claim the winger has already spoken with Liverpool regarding a transfer to the Premier League side at the end of the current campaign.

However, the report goes on to state that the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, and even Bayern Munich are also interested in a move the PSV sensation this summer.

It looks increasingly likely that Gakpo will be leaving the Dutch side and he has no shortage of admirers. The player did recently sign a new contract until 2026 following discussions with manager Ruud van Nistelrooy recently and this could be to secure his club the best possible fee.

Mane 2.0

Liverpool’s recent recruitment has been excellent, with the additions of Luis Diaz and Diego Jota have added extra dimensions to the Reds’ attack and it looks like Klopp is looking to the future.

With Gakpo only being 22, he could well be a fine signing and eventually look to take over from the ageing Sadio Mane.

Indeed, the Dutchman’s attacking output is similar to that of the 30-year-old, having scored a scintillating 18 goals and registered 15 assists over 42 outings in all competitions this season. Although primarily a left-winger, he can play across the forward line.

His performances have gathered a great amount of praise, with the former Netherlands midfielder, Theo Janssen, stating his belief that Gakpo is a talent who “has everything.”

Liverpool could secure his services for £33m which, would be a record fee for PSV.

Indeed, considering the sheer amount of potential the Netherlands international quite clearly possesses, it would not be surprising to see the 22-year-old – if he does indeed secure a move to Anfield this summer – eventually go on to take the place of Mane in the Reds’ starting XI – as it is clear Gakpo is very much a player in the Senegal international’s mould.

AND in other news: Cost £3.5m now worth £19.8m: Liverpool struck gold with “sensational” gem – opinion

Journalist Rahman Osman believes Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira could drop Vicente Guaita to stick with Jack Butland against Chelsea this weekend.

The Lowdown: Palace’s run to the semi-final

Palace have enjoyed a solid and sometimes exciting first season under Vieira and are now preparing for a Wembley showdown with their London rivals.

The Eagles have defeated Millwall, Hartlepool United, Stoke City and Everton on their way to the last four, conceding just twice.

Butland has played every minute of domestic cup action this season, with Guaita first choice in the league, and Osman thinks the Spaniard, who Roy Hodgson labelled as ‘excellent’, will be dropped following the 2-1 loss to Leicester last time out.

The Latest: Guaita to be axed?

Osman shared a story on London World on Wednesday, looking at three Palace stars Vieira may leave out this weekend.

One of those was Guaita, with the reporter believing Vieira will ‘break the heart’ of the 35-year-old by sticking with Butland at Wembley.

The Verdict: Right decision?

Some managers decide to bring back their first choice ‘keeper in the latter stages of cup competitions, but it only seems fair for Vieira to leave Guaita out and stick with Butland – just look at how Caoimhin Kelleher rewarded Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final this year.

Butland made a big blunder against Millwall in the third round but hasn’t been troubled much in the FA Cup since then, though he could be a much busier man on Sunday.

We will soon find out what Vieira decides in regards to selection, however, bigger calls may have to be made outfield, especially with injury concerns to Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise.

In other news: Vieira now wants Parish to bring 25-assist star to Palace; club preparing to lose their player

West Ham will host Lyon at the London Stadium in the first leg of their Europe League quarter-final challenge tonight, and David Moyes must hit the ground running by capitalising on the home advantage, however, there has been a setback in the team ahead of the clash.

What’s the word?

The Hammers manager took to his pre-match press conference to deliver some uncertainty surrounding Coufal’s fitness, despite being on the substitutes bench against Everton last weekend.

Moyes told the press: “Vladimir [Coufal] we’ve brought back and we’re still not totally convinced he’s 100 per cent, so he might just need a bit more time.”

Moyes will be gutted

This European game against Lyon is the biggest clash of the season for the Hammers, so potentially losing out on the opportunity to play one of the most important defensive players in his system will surely leave Moyes gutted ahead of the clash.

Coufal looked likely to make his return in the Premier League last weekend, but the Scottish manager chose to keep him rested and was likely hoping that further time on the bench would make him available for tonight’s game, however it is now looking likely he won’t be selected to start.

The 29-year-old right-back has been out since February after needing groin surgery following an ongoing problem but has been effective in his game-time prior to that with three assists in the Premier League this season whilst averaging two clearances and 1.7 tackles per game, as well as winning the majority of his duels combined (53%) and creating four big chances for the Hammers, according to SofaScore.

With that being said, Ben Johnson has been confirmed available which will surely be a huge boost for Moyes and the team going into the difficult game this evening and the 22-year-old defender should be able to offer enough defensively to make up for Coufal’s absence against Lyon.

West Ham will need to aim to get a good head start against their opponents whilst they have their home advantage in the first leg, with the decider game taking place against the Ligue One side in France a week today.

In other news: Moyes axes £38k-p/w “threat” & “incredible” 22 y/o returns in WHU predicted XI vs Lyon

Whisper it quietly, but Surrey may have turned a corner. After a few grim years when the club has plumbed the depths of mediocrity (and then kept digging), there are early signs that the first green shoots of recovery may be poking through.

George Dobell at Chesterfield29-Jun-2010
ScorecardWhisper it quietly, but Surrey may have turned a corner. After a few grim years when the club has plumbed the depths of mediocrity (and then kept digging), there are early signs that the first green shoots of recovery may be poking through. Not only has Surrey’s Twenty20 form improved (after a poor start, they are now fourth in the South Group), but they’re second in their Clydesdale Bank 40 group and here have shown that their dire position in the championship is likely to improve.Perhaps such optimism should be tempered. There was a time, not so long ago, when a dominant performance against Derbyshire – and a weakened Derbyshire at that – would have been nothing less than expected.Not anymore. Last season Surrey won just a single championship game, while they reached the halfway stage this year rooted to the foot of the championship table. The days when they could approach any fixture with complacency are long gone.They are well on top in this game. They had a lead of 154 after both sides had batted once and, but for an injury to one of their seamers, would surely have enforced the follow-on. Still, with the pitch showing increasing signs of uneven bounce, their lead of 204 going into the third day already looks imposing.That Derbyshire are still in the game at all is largely due to the efforts of Wayne Madsen and Lee Goddard.Coming together with their side reeling at 81 for 6, the pair added 137 in 36 overs for the seventh wicket, with Madsen recording his third century of the campaign and Goddard his first half-century. The next highest contribution was extras, with 16.For some, the likes of Madsen will always represent everything that is wrong in English cricket. South African born, he is 26-years-old and currently qualifying to play for England. While international cricket may prove a step too far for him, he looks a decent county player. A tendency to plant his front foot will always make him an lbw candidate, but he leaves the ball very well, drives neatly and has admirable powers of concentration.He needed this innings, though. He had scored just 77 runs in his previous seven championship innings but, while his colleagues paid the price for their fallibility outside off stump, Madsen showed the virtue of restraint.Goddard hasn’t enjoyed the best of form, either. The 27-year-old, who returned to Derbyshire from Durham in search of first-team cricket at the end of last season, lost his place to Tom Poynton a few weeks ago. Here, however, he neatly compiled the third half-century of his first-class career and seemed to have taken his side to within an inch of avoiding the follow-on.Both Goddard and Madsen may feel that the manner of their departure undid some of their good work, however. While the reverse sweep has become an accepted part of the modern game, neither man had played the shot until the ball that dismissed them and, in other circumstances, falling five short of the follow-on mark would have had match-defining consequences.The key moment of the day came earlier, however. Tim Linley had threatened to run through the Derbyshire batting with a well-controlled spell of medium-fast seam bowling, but suddenly pulled-up midway through his run-up and left the field in obvious pain. He was later diagnosed with ligament damage and won’t bowl again in the match.It was a completely different game after his departure. While Andre Nel and Chris Tremlett bowled pretty well, the support seamers – Stewart Walters and Younis Khan – allowed Goddard and Madsen to settle in with some comfort.Until that point, Surrey had been utterly dominant. Linley, with 4 for 13, expertly exploited a small ridge on the pitch and, at one stage, claimed 3 for 3 in 15 balls. Though he won London CC’s ‘search for a star’ bowling competition in 2005, Linley is never likely to be a star in the Surrey dressing room. He’s not blessed with great pace or outrageous skill and, on the flattest of pitches, can look a little toothless.He’s a useful player, though. Here he landed the ball on the perfect length and gained enough bounce and movement to trouble all the batsmen. As Chris Adams, Surrey’s cricket manager, put it: “maybe he’ll never get the best in the world out, but he’ll bowl up hill and into the wind all day. He reminds me of Mark Robinson.”Garry Park was undone by bounce, prodding outside off stump, Greg Smith lost his off and middle stumps when he missed one that nipped back, Chesney Hughes edged one angled across him and Wes Durston simply missed a straight one. Earlier Chris Rogers was also a victim of bounce, flashing a catch to point, while Robin Peterson edged to slip and Steffan Jones was pinned on the foot by a yorker.Nel looked dangerous with the new ball and delivered more overs than anyone, while there was an encouraging display from Tremlett, too. While he didn’t quite maintain the requisite control, he did generate decent pace and, at times, alarming bounce. He gave the impression of a man just coming to the boil. Perhaps his, and his new club’s, best days may be yet to come.

Pakistan’s teenage pace sensation Mohammad Aamer made the most of ideal swing-bowling conditions in Canterbury to bag 5 for 54

Mark Pennell at Canterbury29-Jun-2010
ScorecardPakistan’s teenage pace sensation Mohammad Aamer made the most of ideal swing-bowling conditions in Canterbury to bag 5 for 54 as the tourists dismissed hosts Kent for 259 inside 69 overs. By stumps, Pakistan reached 86 for 1 in their second innings for an overall lead of 187, this after 18-year-old Aamer had taken a lead role in dismissing a rookie county side in under three-and-a-half hours.Though Aamer has only eight Test caps to his name and 21-first-class appearances behind him, he exploited hot, humid conditions in the first two sessions to cause havoc amongst the home top-order batting. Bowling his slippery left-arm pace from the Nackington Road End and down the St Lawrence slope, Aamer seemingly swung the ball at will and also nipped it around off the seam to create headaches galore.In the face of Pakistan’s impressive new ball burst from Umar Gul in tandem with Aamer, Kent slid to 33 for 4 only to fight back with half-centuries from Joe Denly and James Goodman, who hit 59 on his first-class debut.It helped Pakistan’s cause that heavy rain fell over Kent an hour before the scheduled start, leading to a 30-minute delay and high humidity once the match got underway at 11am.Both Denly and night watchman Matt Coles were fortunate to survive the first five overs, riding their luck the pair somehow posted 31 before Coles pushed inside the line of an Aamer out-swinger to lose his off stump and spark the loss of four wickets for two runs in the space of 14 deliveries.Two balls later Chris Piesley, another first-class debutant, pushed at one from Aamer that left him and brushed the outside edge low to second slip. He went without troubling the scorers. In the next over, Gul rushed one through Alex Blake’s gate to knock back off stump, then Aamer nipped one back off the seam to hit the base of James Hockley’s off stump as Kent lost four wickets for two runs in the space of 14 deliveries.Kent re-grouped either side of lunch with a fifth-wicket stand worth 89 in 20 overs between Denly and Goodman. Denly, who edged through and over the slips during his fortuitous 77-ball stay, reached 50 from only 60 balls while Goodman followed him to the milestone from 111 balls and with five fours.The tourists regained their grip on proceedings soon after lunch when Aamer cleaned up Denly with a fast, full one, then former Pakistan Test allrounder Azhar Mahmood went for 28, spooning a pull shot against Gul to deep square-leg.The impressive Wahab Riaz, a muscular ‘hit-the-deck’ style of seamer who might well revel on English pitches, bowled Goodman off an inside edge then Aamer returned for a third spell to send back Paul Dixey to another catch in the cordon that completed his five-wicket haul.Though Kent’s tail wagged through Mark Lawson (31) and Robbie Joseph (18*), offspinner Shoaib Malik came on to polish the innings off with a tidy stint of 2 for 27 that helped secure a first innings lead of 101.

تحدث طارق العشري المدير الفني لنادي سموحة، عن خسارة فريقه أمام الزمالك اليوم الأربعاء، في المباراة التي أقيمت بمنافسات الدوري المصري.

الزمالك فاز على سموحة، بهدفين دون رد، في الجولة الأولى من عمر مواجهات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز، وذلك على ملعب المقاولون العرب.

وقال العشري خلال تصريحات في المؤتمر الصحفي بعد المباراة: “سموحة كان الأفضل في الشوط الأول، وأجبر الزمالك على ارتكاب الأخطاء، ولم تكن هناك فرص على مرمى الهاني سليمان”.

وأضاف: “الشوط الثاني أول نصف ساعة كنا الأفضل، بعد ذلك الزمالك لعب بكثافة هجومية، لعبنا تكتيكيا بشكل جيد، وأغلقنا على مفاتيح الزمالك، الجزيري أو زيزو لم يظهرا ، لو كنا بدأنا وسجلنا هدفًا كنا سنفوز”.

طالع | أول تعليق لـ أكينيولا بعد افتتاح أهدافه مع الزمالك في الدوري.. ويتحدث عن مواجهة الأهلي

وتابع: “إذا كنا استثمرنا الضغط الذي فعلناه في المباراة كانت النتيجة ستكون مختلفة، كنا الأفضل على مدار 75% من المباراة”.

وواصل: “أجاي مُصاب، هو لاعب جيد جدًا وصانع للأهداف، وكان ينقصنا ترجمة الفرص لتسجيل الأهداف اليوم”.

وأكمل: “راض جدًا عن الفريق بهذا الأداء الذي قدموه أمام بطل مصر في أول مباراة، شيء رائع، إن شاء الله هذه الهزيمة تقوينا ونُعدل من مستوانا في الفترة المُقبلة”.

وأتم: “فيريرا ثبت طريقة التشكيل التي حصد بها الدوري والكأس، اليوم هو كثف الهجوم في الوقت الذي تراجعنا فيه بدنيًا ووصل لما كان يريده وهو الفوز”.