Duhail Sports Club coach Rui Faria was left to rue the missed opportunities as they dropped points early in the Qatar Stars League after a 1-1 draw against Al Arabi on Thursday.

Duhail failed to shut out Arabi despite having opportunities to do so, after they had taken a 1-0 lead. A loss of focus and some determined efforts from Arabi, who mounted a lot of pressure on their opponents, led to the equaliser in a well-fought contest at the Al Janoub Stadium in Wakrah.

“We had a good match, but the result does not reflect that. We wasted many opportunities and there were some mistakes. Definitely we deserved a win against a team whose (defensive) tactics we were aware of,” said Faria.

The Portuguese said he would work on correcting the errors.

“The most important thing for a coach is that his team should create chances and score goals. If we had converted at least from one-third of our opportunities we could’ve won the game. I’ll work on correcting the mistakes and we’ll come back stronger in the next match.”

Duhail, runners-up last season, are trying to regain the crown after a year’s gap. Asked if the draw was a setback, Faria replied in the negative.

“It’s too early to talk about that. Today, we lost two points, but there’re many matches coming up, other teams can also lose points. The competition won’t be easy.”

For Arabi coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, the draw was a win of sorts.

“It was an excellent performance by our team, I’m really delighted,” said Hallgrimson.

The former Iceland national coach felt the result could mark a turning point for his team.

“This result would give our team the confidence to take on stronger teams and perform well in future games,” he added.

Duhail, with four points from two matches, next play Al Rayyan on September 15 while Arabi take on Umm Salal on September 13. They also have four points after two rounds, having beaten Al Ahli 3-1 in their first match.