DUBAI // “There is no balance in the team. All the decisions went against us. We were nervous. We did not show enough focus.”
Visibly dejected, Cosmin Olaroiu offered up a long list of complaints on Sunday night after a nondescript Al Ahli were beaten 1-0 by Al Shabab in the Mamzar derby.
“I am really sad and disappointed,” said the Romanian, who has won three Arabian Gulf League titles in succession – twice with Al Ain, and then with Ahli last season.
“I was hoping we could win this game, but it is a really difficult situation for us.
“I don’t know what we can do. We know that we have problems. We cannot even reach the box. All the decisions went against us; we should have got a penalty.
“But it’s not just about those decisions. We made mistakes; we are not balanced as a team, especially in the middle, and we lose control, we get nervous and we cannot concentrate on what we need to do.”
Three points last night would have elevated Olaroiu's men back into the top four, but they never really looked like scoring despite boasting the likes of Everton Ribeiro, Oussama Assaidi, Carlos Munoz, Luis Jimenez and Ismail Al Hammadi in attack.
Shabab defended stoutly, and when the opportunity to score presented itself on a counter-attack in the 73rd minute, they seized it.
Taking control of a clearance by Manei Mohammed, Carlos Villanueva relayed the ball for Dawood Ali on the left flank. He was fouled, but the referee allowed play to continue as Ali then crossed the ball for Henrique Luvannor, who sized up his chance and decided to push the ball to the right for the onrushing Nasser Masood.
That delivery caught the Ahli defence unaware and Masood volleyed on the run to the far corner to score his second goal in two matches.
The strike was enough to send Shabab level with third-place Al Wahda in the table. Wahda hold the head-to-head tie-breaker over Shabab for the moment.
Shabab coach Caio Junior has set his sights higher as he toasted the "unity" of his modestly funded side.
“I would love to be the champion,” he said. “That’s what we play for and I want my players to think the same way.
“Of course, Al Jazira, Al Ain, Al Ahli, maybe Al Nasr and Al Wahda, these teams have more potential. But we are not like Jazira or Al Ain. We do not have many fans and we cannot pay like Ahli just did to bring Everton. They paid €9 million [Dh37.4m].
“Our strength is our unity. We are strong because we are united and that is what I keep reminding my players all the time.
“This is our strength and we have shown it again tonight.”
arizvi@thenational.ae
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Al Jazira ease past Fujairah to maintain lead
Al Jazira kept their place at the top of the Arabian Gulf League table with a 3-1 win away at Fujairah.
After a goalless first half, Mirko Vucinic made it 1-0 in the 49th minute when he got on the end of Jonathan Pitroipa’s pass and scored past Ayyoub Al Marzouqi.
Four minutes later, it was 2-0 as Manuel Lanzini threaded a ball through to Ali Mabkhout in the box, and the Asian Cup’s Golden Boot winner made no mistake.
A curling shot from Humaid Ahmed went just over Khalid Alsenaani’s crossbar as Fujairah tried to fight back. In the 62nd minute, they were successful when Boubacar Sanogo found the net with a header from Ibrahim Saeed’s cross.
But any hope of a revival ended in the 83rd minute as Abdullah Mousa stuck out a leg to fire home after Jucilei's knock-down from a corner.
Elsewhere, Baniyas defeated Kalba 1-0 thanks to a 30th-minute goal from defender Masoud Sulaiman. The hosts moved onto 23 points to go sixth in the table.
Al Nasr won 2-0 win at Sharjah, courtesy of stoppage-time goals from Hussein Abbas and Pablo Hernandez. Sharjah’s Wanderley was sent off in the 74th minute for a second bookable offence.
Al Ain travel to Al Wasl on Monday as they look to close on Jazira, and Ajman host Al Dhafra.
