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Cosmin Olaroiu calls for calm after big win

Dubai - The Red Knights looked in fine fettle as they ran riot on their way to a rousing rout, with the final 8-1 scoreline perhaps not entirely reflective of a game that could well have seen them chalk up double figures.

 Cosmin Olaroiu says his Al Ahli side cannot afford to get too far ahead of themselves in the wake of their wondrous win over Fujairah here.
The Red Knights looked in fine fettle as they ran riot on their way to a rousing rout, with the final 8-1 scoreline perhaps not entirely reflective of a game that could well have seen them chalk up double figures.
Nonetheless, Olaroiu was cautious about reading too much into a one-off result, with Ahli's aesthetic attacks partially offset by the dire defending of Fujairah at times.
"It's only three points. We have to remain calm and not think we're better than we are," the Romanian coach said in his post-match press conference.
"That's the right reaction to this result, which can give us the impression we're much better than we are. If we understand this, we have hope for our forthcoming games.
"It was a good start for us, but we still have a lot of work to do."
It was some statement of intent by Ahli as they set about trying to recapture the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) crown they relinquished so meekly to Olaroiu's former employers Al Ain last season.
The ex Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia boss wasn't though about the openly throw down the gauntlet to any other likely contenders in the title race.
"We don't want to send any message out to anyone," he added. "We're satisfied with what we've done and now we move forward. We'll completely forget about this game and move on to the next one."
It's hard not to believe nevertheless that the likes of The Boss, Al Jazira, Al Shabab and Al Wahda won't have taken notice of Ahli's eye-catching inventiveness in the final third of the field. New signing Lima was heavily involved at the heart of it all to boot.