Ahli boss Hossam Al-Badri held his team's rearguard responsible for Friday's 2-0 loss at Ittihad of Lybia in the CAF Champions League round of 16. Younes Al-Shibani and Ahmed Zuway capitalized on the Red Devils' defensive lapses to head both goals and seal a staggering victory for the hosts. Ahli's defeat was mainly put down to Al-Badri's inability to employ a suitable formation but the under-fire coach refused to take the blame and cited the Cairo giants' slack defense. "Ittihad's both goals were scored because of our defenders' recurrent mistakes," he told Ahli's official website. "This is a serious problem that we have to address as soon as possible." Although he admitted Ahli's backline incompetence, Al-Badri believes his men shouldn't have slumped to a defeat. "At least we should have salvaged a draw," he added. "The result doesn't really reflect both teams' displays. "We were superior in terms of ball possession, we had no luck though. "Our frontline carved out a host of clear-cut scoring chances but the execution was always poor." Impossible is Nothing Al-Badri is convinced that the six-time African champions are capable of overturning their two-goal deficit and advance to the Champions League group stage. "Impossible is nothing for Ahli," he stated. "The second leg is what really matters. Our fans will be playing a major role." Ahli need to beat Ittihad by a three-goal margin in Cairo in order to qualify for the next round. Last year, Ahli couldn't go past the Champions League round of 16 after losing to Nigeria's Kano Pillars.
