Story of the match
Abu Dhabi // Al Shaab's winless run in the Arabian Gulf League went on Saturday night, but they can take a lot of heart from a point shared with Baniyas in a 1-1 draw.
It was only their third point of the season, and avoiding relegation remains a tall order, but Walter Zenga’s side demonstrated an encouraging amount of tenacity as they came from a goal down to earn a share of the spoils.
Zenga and the Shaab board have shaken up their foreign ranks ahead of the second of the half of the season.
The Brazilians Marcos de Santana and Ze Eduardo, and the Uzbek centre-back Shavkatjon Mulladjanov were pushed into action straightaway alongside the Frenchman Michael N’dri, the only foreigner left from their summer signings.
Despite a solid opening to last night’s game, Shaab went behind in the 31st minute as Ishak Belfodil got on the end of Royston Drenthe’s centre to divert the ball into the net.
Shaab were grateful to goalkeeper Ismail Rabee for keeping them in the match early in the second half as he charged down a close range effort from Drenthe.
This escape proved the catalyst for Shaab’s revival as they equalised in the 57th minute as Mohammed Salem found the net from close range.
Both sides had late chances to win the game, but it was Shaab who could be the more satisfied with their evening’s endeavours.
Man of the match
Ze Eduardo, Al Shaab: The Brazilian had a decent AGL debut following his arrival from Goias.
The former Genoa and Siena striker, 28, was involved in the thick of the action both in attack and also dropping down in defence.
It was from his assist that Shaab scored the equaliser, and Zenga will hope his new player maintains this form in the weeks ahead.
What they said
Walter Zenga, the Shaab coach: “For us, we need to win points from every game because of the situation we are in. We didn’t play that well in the first half but we came back strongly in the second half. After scoring the equaliser we pushed for a win but even a draw was good enough. The players showed what they can do. This is another face of our team.”
When asked if the three new foreign players made an immediate impact, he said: “We all saw what they can do. Obviously with more time they can do better. They showed strong attitude, more commitment and played good.”
Luis Garcia, Baniyas coach: “We didn’t play well. I don’t want to find fault against the players as an excuse but none of them played to their potential. It was one of the worst games we played this season.
“We also missed the services Amer Abdulrahman because of a one-match ban for three yellow cards and Ahmed Haboush due to injury.”
The National’s verdict
Shaab can take a lot of positives from their first game in the second half of the league. They still have a lot of work to get out of the situation they are in but with more time with their new foreign recruits it could be the turning point for them.
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