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| Saad: Respect for Perak was key |
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| Safa coach Samir Saad said the pressure in now on Dempo following their 1-0 win in the first leg of their AFC Cup semi-final clash. |
BEIRUT – Safa coach Samir Saad believes his side's respect for their opponents was behind their 5-0 win against Perak in their second leg of the 2008 AFC Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Safa, 2-0 winners of the first leg in Ipoh last week, took the lead on 43 minutes through Rony Azar, who then made it 2-0 in the last minute of the first half.
Hussein Tahan scored the third goal on 61 minutes before substitute striker Mohammad Kassas added the fourth goal seven minutes later while Mahmoud El Zoughbi sealed the win in the 83rd minute.
"We respected Perak in the first leg when they played at home and we respected them when they came here," said Saad in the post match press conference. "We didn't underestimate them and that was our main key to winning the two matches.
"Perak had good chances in the first half and they could have changed the game if they had scored from these chances. However, we scored two goals late in the half which helped us to take a good lead into the second half.”
After Safa dominated the opening exchanges, it was the Malaysians who went closest to scoring, twice hitting the woodwork before the hosts opened their account in the lead up to the halftime break through Azar.
A second goal from the 25-year-old all but ended Perak’s resistance and Safa eventually ran out comfortable winners, notching up a 7-0 aggregate victory to progress to the last four.
"In the first half we played carefully because the 2-0 lead that we had in the first leg was not secure,” said Saad. “But after taking the lead in the first half we didn't have any pressure in the second half.
"Our players performed well tonight and they continued their good performance even after scoring two goals in the first half. The foreign players that we have played an essential role in this win."
Perak’s English coach Steve Darby lamented the financial conditions which affected his side preparations for the game as they travelled to Beirut with a squad of only 14 players.
"First of all, I congratulate Safa for their win as they are a good team and they have good players," he said. "We were handicapped in the match as we didn't have other players due to our bad financial conditions.
"The long trip that we made from Malaysia affected the players and they were affected by their fasting as well. The fitness of the players declined in the second half and this affected us as well."
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