DUBAI // Cosmin Olaroiu is hoping Al Ahli’s stunning loss at home to Al Shabab in the Deira derby last night will serve as a wake-up call for his faltering defending champions and put them on the road to redemption.
Ahli were in complete control through the first half, with Ahmed Khalil giving them an 18th minute lead.
Khalil then turned provider for Humaid Abbas two minutes into the second session and that looked like the knockout blow for the visitors.
Mohammed Marzooq’s stinging finish in the 55th minute then lifted Shabab’s spirits and, in the following 11 minutes, they added two more goals – both headers from dead balls – to stun the home fans.
Henrique Luvannor then completed the turnaround with his second of the night.
“For the first 55 minutes, we did not give Shabab a chance to come near our goal and then we conceded three goals inside 12 minutes,” Olaroiu said.
“What can I say. We thought the game was finished after 2-0 and we dropped our focus, made a lot of mistakes.
“It’s a difficult loss, especially given the goals we received. We have to take lessons from this. Sometimes it is good to have such matches. Focus is essential in football and we did not show that in this game, and paid a big price.
“Hopefully, we will wake up now and start playing the way we used to play in such situations earlier.”
Marzooq’s goal did indeed come out of the blue.
Shabab had not even come close to scoring before then, but Caio Junior insisted his team had never lost hope.
“My team had belief,” he said. “We had prepared really well, camps and friendly matches for two months.
“They were really looking forward to the starts. They really wanted to win this match.”
It was an impressive start for Shabab, who were originally scheduled to play Al Ain in the opening round but that game was postponed because of their opponent’s Asian Champions League commitments. Junior refused, though, to put his team’s name among the title favourites.
“I would love to win something, but I am not going to make any claims or predictions,” he said.
“It is very difficult because we have Al Jazira, Al Wahda, Al Ain and Al Ahli – all very big teams. It will not be easy.”
REPORT CARD
Star performer – Henrique Luvannor
In pre-season, Shabab coach Caio Junior warned rivals to watch out for his Brazil-born Moldovan recruit. Ahli’s defenders probably did not listen and were caught by surprise. His burst of speed, created plenty of problems for them. He ran tirelessly at them and the two goals were just reward.
Underperformer – Ahmed Dida
An Al Ahli goalkeeper has not conceded four goals since 2011/12. Ahli had built a reputation for being a sturdy defence in that time and their gloveman, Saif Yousuf, was named goalkeeper of the 2013/14 season. Dida got the nod ahead of Yousuf but, by the end, Ahli fans were screaming for his substitution.
Key moment
Al Shabab had looked innocuous for the first 55 minutes as they struggled to reach the final fourth of the pitch. But, out of the blue, Dawood Ali floated the ball into the box and Edgar Bruno headed it down into Mohammed Marzooq’s path and the Shabab defender blasted home. That goal turned the tide.
Al Ahli rating – 4/10
Like the last game, the defending champions had a meltdown in the second session. Sharjah, a man down, could not take advantage, but Shabab did.
Al Shabab rating – 6/10
With three goals in the space of 11 minutes, Caio Junior’s men redeemed themselves after a rather insipid performance in the first session.
The National’s verdict
Ciel’s absence was always going to hurt Ahli, but surprisingly they did well in offence, taking a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute. But then the gremlins that Cosmin Olaroiu talked about in the last match came back. Ahli have looked far from convincing in these two matches and need a big performance lift if they hope to make a decent bid of their title defence.
arizvi@thenational.ae
Wahda rebound for victory
Al Wahda came from behind to beat Emirates 2-1 last night. The visitors trailed by a goal after Emirates’ Luiz Henrique, left, netted just two minutes from half time. Al Wahda rebounded through Sebastian Tagliabue who scored in the 72nd minute before Amer Omar headed the winner in the 93rd.
Kalba draw against Baniyas
Kalba earned a point against Baniyas in their second game since being promoted to top-tier football. Danilo Petrolli’s 24th-minute goal gave the home team the lead. But Baniyas came back in the second half to draw level through a Joan Verdu effort in the 72nd minute – also a spot kick.
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