Accra Hearts of Oak coach, Nebojsa Kapor, has attributed his side’s first defeat of the season to the absence of some key players in their 1-0 loss to Karela United last Saturday.
The Phobians suffered their first setback of the campaign in a tense and fiercely contested encounter against the Tamale-based side, with Kapor admitting that the absence of three influential players affected his team’s performance.
Hearts went into the game without their captain and first-choice goalkeeper, Benjamin Asare, Ali Mohammed and Mohammed Hussein, and Kapor said their absence was a major setback.
“Their absence was a big problem for us, but every player who represented us played as they had before this game. I’m not sure, but when you lose some players like what happened in our team, it affects everything,” he said after the game.
Despite the defeat, the Bosnian coach believed Hearts did not deserve to lose, arguing that Karela United did not create enough clear-cut opportunities to justify their victory.
He, however, admitted that his own side also struggled to create meaningful chances throughout the encounter.
“I’m really sorry because of our players and our squad, but this is football. I’m not sure we deserved this defeat today. We were trying to find some solutions, but we couldn’t,” Kapor noted.
The defeat brought an end to Hearts’ unbeaten start to the season and left the coach disappointed, but he urged the supporters and his players to quickly put the setback behind them.
Kapor also apologised to the fans and called for focus as Hearts prepare for another difficult away fixture against Dreams FC.
“This is very disappointing for us, but we have to forget the past and continue our preparations for the next step because we are facing another difficult away game against Dreams FC. We have to concentrate on this game,” he said.
