Mutaz Abdullah praises four-star Conde

Dubai - The Spanish striker plunders four goals as Sky Blues beat Al Wahda

Bani Yas assistant coach Mutaz Abdullah heaped praise on the team, especially striker Pedro Conde, after they came away victorious in a seven-goal thriller against Al Wahda.
In a game that had all the thrills and spills, including a sending off at the fag end, Spanish marksman Conde plundered all four goals for the Sky Blues as they won 4-3 at their fortress, the Bani Yas Stadium.
Sebastian Tagliabue struck a brace, the Argentine scoring a penalty and missing another, while Carlos Lopez also scored for The Clarets.
It was the first win of the season for Bani Yas after they had drawn both their matches previously. Meanwhile, Al Wahda suffered their second defeat.
"Pedro Conde was brilliant. He positioned himself very well was able to find goal scoring opportunities," said Abdullah, who spoke post-game after coach Winfried Schafer was banished to the stands.
"Schafer told Conde not to play high up the middle because Al Wahda would leave a lot of vacant spaces at the back. And that worked to perfection for Conde," he added.
Abdullah, who was formerly the UAE and Al Ain shot stopper, felt that it was unfair to judge the team based on the two draws and echoed Schafer by saying they are in the process of building a young and vibrant team for the future.
"It is not right to make judgment after only two games. We have lofty ambitions but our main focus is also on forming a strong unit that can fight for titles in the future," remarked Abdullah.
It was Al Wahda who took the lead on 21 minutes through Tagliabue, who scored from the spot after he was brought down.
But Bani Yas cancelled that out with Conde tapping home a pass from Suhail Al Noobi, five minutes later. Conde got his second from a penalty on 36 minutes and then wrapped up his hat-trick on 49 minutes.
Tagliabue then headed home on the hour but was to miss from the spot on 71 minutes. Conde got his fourth and although Lopez scored a penalty, the hosts nicked the game.
james@khaleejtimes.com