Al Ahli coach Marino Pusic faces calls to be sacked after Mamelodi Sundowns defeat

Al Ahli coach Marino Pusic is facing calls for his dismissal after his side suffered a 2-1 defeat by Mamelodi Sundowns in the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup.

The Asian champions endured a difficult outing in the capital, falling behind in the opening quarter of the match when Nuno Santos headed Sundowns into the lead.

Al Ahli responded almost immediately, levelling a minute later after Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams scored an own goal.

However, Sundowns secured victory after Al Ahli failed to make the most of several chances created during the game.

Former player and television pundit Ghani criticised Pusic’s handling of the match and called for him to leave the club.

“Pusic did not deal with the match logically, he was very bad, and he does not know how to deal with the atmosphere of the match,” Ghani said on Our Club, according to WinWin.

“The coach’s interventions caused harm to Al Ahli. Pusic should not return to the team after the series of disasters he committed.”

Ghani also criticised several Al Ahli players for failing to perform, pointing out that the Saudi side fielded more foreign players than Sundowns.

“The coach bears the greatest part of the blame for the loss, but some players who failed to deliver what was required should also be blamed,” he added.

“We are talking about eight or nine foreign players who participated compared to only three foreign players in Sundowns, and they did not deliver what was required. Al Ahli lost much of its brilliance.”

Pusic, however, argued that Al Ahli were unfortunate to lose, insisting their chances should have been enough to secure a different result.

“I think maybe we could decide the game in the first half, missing big chances, also starting very strongly [in the] second half, also some good opportunities,” Pusic told SuperSport TV.

“And then it’s one cross and it’s one goal. We tried in the end, and I think we absolutely didn’t deserve to lose this game by chances because they were for sure for us.

“But that’s football. If you don’t score, you keep the opponent alive and that’s what we did. Unfortunately, that’s the case for this game.”