Patrice Carteron assesses Zamalek Champions League qualification chances after home draw against Petro Luanda
Patrice Carteron has claimed that it’s too early to doubt Zamalek’s chances of qualifying out of Caf Champions League group D following his side’s home 2-2 draw against Petro Luanda.
Zamalek head coach, Patrice Carteron, spoke about his team’s performance against Petro Luanda and how they came back after trailing in the first-half.
Zamalek salvaged a last-minute draw against Angola’s Petro Luanda, in their first CAF Champions League group stage game.
The Whites were trailing by two goals after the first-half but managed to comeback in the second-half thanks to goals from Youssef Obama and Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh.
Carteron expected the team to struggle at the beginning, given that the international players hadn’t played with the rest of the team in over one month.
“I was worried about today’s match, since it was the international players’ first game back and we struggled a bit,” Carteron said in the post-match press conference.
“The performance improved in the second-half and scored two goals. A tie is the best result considering how the match was going.
“The changes between the two halves paid off and we were more intense offensively. The players played with a lot of spirit in the second-half, which made the difference and helped us equalize. Besides that, we missed four easy chances today,” he added.
The Frenchman then explained that it was too early to speak about the team’s chances of reaching the the knockout stages.
“Petro Atletico was better than us in the first -half, but it is difficult to judge the team’s chances of qualifying after the first match. The team must be judged after the first three matches at least,” he continued.
“The coaching staff will focus on the players’ recovery, and we will enter a closed camp tomorrow in preparation for the next match in the league.
“Mahmoud Alaa isn’t as the same physical level as El-Wensh, because he only played 30 minutes in one month, so I didn’t start him,” he concluded.
The draw puts Zamalek in third-place in their group after Wydad Casablanca had beat Sagrada Esperança 3-0 in Morocco.
Zamalek will next travel to Angola to face Sagrada on February 19th, while Petro Atletico will host Wydad on the same day.
