Simetch reveals the secret behind Al-Ittihad's defeat to Al-Hilal, and clings to hope

Despite the Clasico shock

Al-Ittihad's Serbian defender Jan-Carlo Simic pinned his side's 3-2 defeat to Al-Hilal on individual errors in the clasico of the Saudi Pro League's eighth round. One loss, he insisted, would not define the season, with plenty of matches left to put the mistakes right.

Speaking after the match, Simic called the clasico one of the biggest fixtures in Saudi Arabia and Asia, a game that piles pressure on both teams. Al-Ittihad, he admitted, did not get the result they were after.

Individual errors cost them the goals, he said. The big encounters turn on small details, especially against strong teams, and that is exactly what Al-Ittihad must sharpen up in the weeks ahead.

The 21-year-old refused to let the result dent the team's ambitions this season. He vowed to keep working seriously and stay on the right track.

Simic signed off by stressing the need to move on quickly. The plan is simple: analyse what went wrong, recover and prepare for the next match, due in two or three days' time.