Bonacic angered by poor display

AFCL – Sepahan coach Luka Bonacic questioned the professionalism of his players on Wednesday after they allowed a late lead to slip in their 1-1 draw with Al Ain in a Group D clash.

Iraq international Hawar Mulla Mohammed scored 11 minutes from time to cancel out Hossein Papi’s 50th minute opener, preventing Sepahan from extending their lead in a tight group.

While accepting that his players may have been tired after their recent hard-fought win against Iran Pro League leaders Esteghalal, Bonacic felt that they could have done more to raise their game.

“Our players were exhausted after the win against Esteghlal and it seemed that they didn’t have enough energy to do what I told them to do before the match,” said the Croatian.

“It's clear that I couldn’t replace too many of my players so we had to go into this game with the same tired players.

“But I personally think that the significant problem lies in the way that the Iranian players practice as they don’t often behave very professionally. For instance, they rarely turn up on time for routine training sessions and are keen to leave the session earlier than scheduled.

“Thirty percent of the players in my own squad don’t take on the burden I put on their shoulders but I am unable to punish them for that.”

While Sepahan remain at the top of Group D, Bonacic felt that point dropped at home could end up being costly for his team.

"We have gained seven points so far and that's certainly not bad after four games, but we may still be unable to advance to the knockout stage,” said Bonacic.

“I think it is crucial to do well in our home games when we are playing in front of our fans.

“After Al Ain equalised, we had many chances to take the lead for the second time, but we failed, as a result of our poor performance in attack.”

Al Ain remain third in the group, two points behind Sepahan and Al Shabab, with coach Walter Zenga feeling that his team could have done better in Esfahan.

"I'm not obviously too pleased with our result here since we're returning home with only a single point.

“During the first half, we weren’t brave enough to go on the offensive away from home but after the resumption we thought of nothing but attack.

“I don’t think we have much chance of progressing past the group stage but we will continue to work hard to make the best of our small chance.”