Hernan Crespo insists Al Ain did not deserve to lose ADIB Cup final to Al Wahda

Al Ain manager Hernan Crespo said his side did not deserve to lose the ADIB Cup final to Al Wahda, but backed his team to rebound in their bid to become Asian champions later this month.

The Garden City club were defeated 1-0 at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday night, with Lucas Pimenta’s 15-minute header proving decisive.

Al Ain, two-time League Cup winners but runners-up also last season, dominated the second half in Abu Dhabi, yet could not find a way past Wahda. Late on, striker Kodjo Laba struck a post with a header.

In winning, it was in fact Wahda who lifted the trophy for a third time, with captain and long-term servant Ismail Matar, 41, finishing his final season with his boyhood club with another title.

Speaking after the match, Crespo said: “First of all, congratulations to Al Wahda for becoming champions. In terms of football, we didn’t deserve to lose this game. We conceded this goal and I think one other chance in the second half.

“After that everything was about us. To try to shoot, to be dangerous … we hit the post. When this kind of situation happens, we need to accept. We managed the game, we were positive. For me, we made a good performance, but it’s not enough.”

In his first season in UAE football, Crespo said Al Ain were simply not clinical enough – Soufiane Rahimi, Kaku and Mathias Palacios all had efforts at goal – but that he was still full of pride in his players.