Faras: I Take Responsibility for the Loss
Al-Kuwait Club coach Fares Al-Khatib takes responsibility for the loss against Nasaf and apologizes to fans after his team, which led by two goals, conceded three to lose 3-2.
Translated by Qiyas from النهار — Original source
Syrian coach Firas Al-Khatib of Al-Kuwait Club assumed full responsibility for his team’s 3-2 defeat to Uzbekistan’s Nasaf in yesterday’s match, part of the fourth round of Group A in the second-tier AFC Champions League Two, offering his apologies to the club’s supporters for the result and stressing the need to correct mistakes in upcoming games. Al-Khatib said, “I personally bear responsibility for the loss, and I apologize to the fans for this result. We will work on correcting our errors.” He noted that his team played a good first half and managed to take a two-goal lead, but regressed in the second half, allowing the opponent to exploit their mistakes and stage a comeback.
Al-Kuwait had taken a two-goal lead through Taha Al-Hanisi, who scored from a penalty in the 31st minute, and Mohammed Faraih in the 34th. Nasaf then overturned the scoreline in the second half with a hat-trick from Bobur Abdulkhakov in the 57th and 67th minutes, and Aybek Rustamov in the 81st.
This marked the second time Al-Kuwait had taken a two-goal lead only to lose 3-2 in the competition, after a similar scenario occurred in the opening round against the UAE’s Al-Ittihad Kalba, when they led by two goals before losing by the same scoreline. Al-Khatib explained that he had warned his players between halves about the dangers of a two-goal lead, describing the match’s narrative as strange, and affirming that the team has the ability to score but needs to improve defensively and handle difficult and sensitive periods in matches more effectively.
The loss left Al-Kuwait with six points, three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad Kalba, who also suffered a defeat, losing 2-1 to Bahrain’s Al-Khalidiya in Abu Dhabi. The defeat boosted Al-Khalidiya’s tally to four points, the same total reached by Nasaf after their victory over Al-Kuwait. The result of the second match revived hopes for Nasaf and Al-Khalidiya in the race for the two qualification spots, intensifying competition in the remaining two group-stage rounds.
