AFC - Esteghlal coach Roland Koch has
conceded that the sole spot in the AFC Champions League semi-finals is
firmly within the grasp of Group C hosts Al Ain.
"When a team wins their first two games and has six points, while two others
have three with one game left to play it is normal to assume that they have
the best chance, so therefore, Al Ain have the group in their hand.
The German, who has coached at Bayer Leverkusen and Besiktas, carried an
agitated demeanor at the press conference following Wednesday's 3-2 loss to
Al Hilal, expressing his annoyance at the basic mistake that led to the
Saudis second goal.
"We lost concentration at the corner kick and that simply is bad football,
said koch. "We started the game well and scored two very good goals but we
missed a good chance to get the third.
"I also felt the referee made a lot of mistakes as there were too many
free-kicks in front of our goal. That's my opinion but everybody will have
their own point of view."
Esteghlal face Ain at the Al Qattara Stadium on Saturday needing nothing
less than a win.