By Micheal Madyara
Pitso Mosimane continues to find it hard in the Saudi Pro League — after his side Abha Club lost 3-0 away at Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq on Saturday.
Despite guiding his side to victory, the Liverpool great was unhappy with what he believed was underhand tactics by Mosimane’s men.
An own goal by Grzegorz Krychowiak, as well as goals from Karl Toko-Ekambi and Moussa Dembele, left Abha stuck second from the bottom of the 18-team table.
Gerrard feels Mosimane’s side tried to frustrate them by employing time-wasting tactics.
“The opponent tried to provoke us by wasting time but our mental state was strong,” the Englishman said on Al Ettifaq’s X account.
“No one can stop Moussa Dembele from scoring goals. Winning is an important step; we must continue working and remain humble in order to achieve our goals.”
Since inheriting an already relegation-threatened Abha Club, Mosimane has struggled to improve their fortunes.
He has led them to one victory, a draw and two defeats, making their fight against demotion a more complicated task.
They have three points more than basement side Al Hazm, and five less than Al Riyadh, who are sitting just above the relegation cut-off point.
Abha could, however, draw hope from the fact that they still have 11 matches to play before the end of the Saudi Pro League campaign. This could be enough time to fight for safety.
Up next for Mosimane and his men is Thursday’s hosting of Al Wehda, who are 10th on the table but enduring a five-match winless streak.
Since leaving South Africa’s Premier Soccer League, this is the second time Mosimane has struggled to fight for silverware.
After enjoying success in Egypt at Al Ahly, and in the Saudi second tier with Al Ahli, life started getting difficult for the former Bafana Bafana tactician at Emiati side Al Wahda. He only lasted four months there.
He was in charge of only 10 games, the lowest number ever in his career as a club coach.
Pictured above: Abha Club coach Pitso Mosimane
Image source: Abha Club
