BANIYAS 0 AL NASR 2
Al Nasr - H Mohammed 43', Saleh 89'
Man of the match - Habib Fardan (Al Nasr)
Abu Dhabi // Baniyas were given a bitter pill ahead of their Asian Champions League play-off against Al Qadsia as they went down 2-0 to Al Nasr in the Arabian Gulf League on Monday night
However, their coach, Jorge da Silva, insisted the result did not have any negative impact on their preparation for their home game against the Kuwaiti side on Saturday.
“This game is different to the play-off match in the continental championship,” the Uruguayan said.
“We will put this result behind us and look ahead for a positive result against Qadsia. We still have five days to prepare and we are confident of a better performance and a better result.”
Hassan Mohammed and Alhussain Saleh scored on either side of half time for Al Nasr to end their losing run in the rescheduled league game last night at the Baniyas Stadium.
Habib Fardan split the Baniyas defence when he headed a long ball towards Mohammed, who darted inside the box before unleashing a low shot that hit the far post and crashed into the back of the net to give the visitors a vital lead before the break.
Saleh, who came on for Mohammed in the 82nd minute, sealed the game with an excellent finish after exchanging passes with Eder Luis.
“I think we still played a good game although we didn’t achieve the desired result,” Da Silva said.
“Some of the players didn’t play true to their potential. We missed scoring from a spot kick and from another good move before Nasr scored. It could have been different had we scored first.”
Nasr came into the game on the back of three league defeats and their ouster from the President’s Cup semi-finals, against Al Ain last week.
“It was a very important result for us as we came after a disappointing period in the league and our exit from the President’s Cup,” said Ivan Jovanovic, the Al Nasr coach.
“The players were more focused. We controlled the pace of the game against a strong side as Baniyas. For me, it was very important for the team to respond after the string of poor results.
“January was a difficult month for us and this result will certainly give us a push for the remainder of the league.”
The result took Nasr’s tally to 26 points and they jump four places to fifth while Baniyas dropped one place to seventh in the league table.
Yousuf Jaber had a golden opportunity to put the home side ahead after Luis Farina earned them a penalty when he went down off a faint touch from Ali Al Ameri, the Nasr defender.
Jaber’s effort was saved by Ahmed Shambieh. The Nasr goalkeeper dived to his left, and the ball touched his hand and ricocheted off the post for Brett Holman to clear it to safety.
Baniyas were unlucky when Haboush Saleh’s first-time effort to guide the ball off a pass from Farina bounced off the crossbar on the half hour.
apassela@thenational.ae
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