Al Ahli win leaves coach smiling

Coach Ivan Hasek was left mulling his team's future exploits following Al Ahli's emphatic 3-1 win against Bani Yas in their Group B encounter of the Etisalat Cup here late on Saturday."We played very well and what stood out is the way we worked together throughout the match. We created chances and scored three goals even though we had so many opportunities," Hasek told media at the post-match conference."The first two goals gave us a comfort, but then they scored one. So we had to score the third and once we did that we were able to relax a bit more. But what I am happy about is the spirit that has crept into the team to fight till the end," he added.Brazilian Grafite opened the scoring for the home side and Chilean Luis Jimenez converted a sizzling free kick to give the hosts a comfortable 2-0 early lead. But playing without the services of French international David Trezequet, Senegal's frontman Andre Senghor pulled one back from the penalty spot with two minutes left for half-time and give Bani Yas some hope.However, Faisal Khalil came off the bench for the second time in as many matches to score his second goal of the season with eight minutes remaining to hand Al Ahli a well-deserved win."The Etisalat Cup is important competition for everyone. This is a competition that allows coaches to test players, and for us this has been a good preparation for us going into the Gulf Champions League [October 18]," Hasek said.Blessed with possibly one of the best attack line-ups, Hasek insisted on the bigger picture. "This is not just about the attack we have. The more important thing is the spirit among players to play as a team," the Czech coach added.Bani Yas coach Jorvan Vieira refused to make any excuses for his team's lone points after four matches in this competition. "I am not making any excuses for this defeat as I have limited resources and I have to work with what I have," he said."I am not complaining, but some of my key players are away on national duty but they will be back with us on October 12. David [Trezequet] too is not fit, and we can only hope he will be back with us on the field for the next match," Vieira said.