ABU DHABI // Auckland City manager Paul Posa was full of praise for his gallant amateurs, and his backroom staff, after the Oceania champions ended Pro League side Al Ahli's Club World Cup aspirations at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium last night.
Auckland seemed to have Al Ahli tactically worked out as soon the game began and, after seeing his team run out comfortable 2-0 winners, Posa was quick to pay tribute to Auckland's Catalan assistant coach Ramon Tribulietx.
"Obviously our team are quite ecstatic with the result," said Posa. "The boys have worked so hard for this and it was our night. The key for us was the homework we did on Al Ahli.
"We knew exactly what to expect. Our assistant coach Tribulietx knew every single player inside out and even when we saw their teamsheet we knew how they were going to play, the shape they were going to play. He knew everything about them.
"He's done the hard yards behind the scenes and deserves a lot of credit here. We knew how they would play and had a system in place to counter that and we worked very, very hard."
Auckland's first goal was scored right on half-time through Adam Dickinson while Chad Coombes wrapped up the game after 67 minutes with a magnificent long- range effort.
Posa said: "Coombes filled in at right-back, he would have played up front. But I'm very happy with the result. Chad's goal was class.
"If James Pritchett's back, right and fully fit, he will come into contention for a starting place - he is one of our most important players. It's a case of whether he has enough time. He's been instrumental in our success and he's an important player. Chad is just starting to blossom."
Posa, who described Auckland as underdogs in the run-up to the Club World Cup opener, revealed he was always confident his side would turn training ground form into a match-winning display.
"We were not the favourites for this game, but the amount of work our team have put in and the high prestige we hold this tournament, I felt calm and confident," said Posa. "We could not have done anything better in the build-up - everything fell into place. I knew we would create opportunities and chances in the game because of the way we have been playing, training and moving the ball. It was just a case of finishing the chances. First of all it was getting the right structure and then finishing the chances we created."
Next for Auckland are Concacaf champions Atlante, of Mexico. And despite unexpectedly seeing off the hosts to reach the quarter-finals, Posa is well aware of the fresh task facing his tired troops.
"I'm confident the boys will give a good performance," said Posa. "But if you look outside of Estudientes and Barcelona, I think Atlante are the best and most classy team in this tournament.
"It couldn't be harder for us from here and I think they will be a class up from where we're at. But if we're organised, work hard and play really well again, then maybe we can upset their rhythm. I won't say we'll win - it's going to be a harder ask - but we'll go into it and give it our best shot. We have to believe we can pinch something out of the game."
emegson@thenational.ae
ENGLAND SQUAD
Team: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Sam Simmonds
Replacements 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Meydan card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (PA) Group 1 US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) Group 2 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
