One point as good as three for Shabab in draw at Al Ain

Shabab regain second place while Sharjah, Baniyas also earn victories

Hazza Salem, right, and Al Ain were left frustrated on Thursday as they could not break down Al Shabab's defence and had to settle for a 0-0 home draw. Anas Kanni / Al Ittihad

AL AIN // Marcos Paqueta, the Al Shabab coach, described the scoreless draw against Al Ain as good as a win for his team, since they regained the second spot in the Arabian Gulf League behind Al Ahli.

“I couldn’t have wished for more from my players against a team that has won the league for the last two years and playing on their pitch,” the Brazilian manager said.

“We didn’t come to play for a draw, though, as our approach before a game is always to win. If we can’t win, then a draw is good enough for us, particularly against Al Ain.”

The punchless result on Thursday night at the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium took Shabab’s tally to 27 points, five behind leaders Ahli, while Al Ain moved up one place to seventh on 22.

Al Ain played an attacking game, but the Shabab defence stayed solid throughout the 90 minutes.

Asamoah Gyan’s header off a free kick from Ibrahim Diaky went agonisingly close to the near post. It was the closest either team came to scoring in the first 20 minutes of play.

Thereafter, Gyan had another crack at the visitor’s goal.

He had the power packed behind his effort but not the direction after he was set up outside the box by Alex Brosque.

Shabab’s best effort was a header from Edgar Bruno, in between Gyan’s efforts, which was pushed out by Khalid Essa, the Al Ain goalkeeper.

The intensity of the game increased after the break, with Al Ain pressing hard for a lead and Shabab threatening on the counter attacks.

Both sides created a few chances, yet none were in danger of breaking the deadlock.

Quique Sanchez Flores, the Al Ain coach, strengthened the attack by bringing in his Emirati playmaker, Omar Abdulrahman, for his older brother Mohammed Abdulrahman at just past the hour mark.

The younger sibling had a great chance of putting his team ahead, but his sliding volley flew over the crossbar 10 minutes from time.

“We knew Al Ain would play an offensive game and they have a few players who can score even from half-chances. So we had all their options well-marked,” Paqueta said.

“These game plans work sometimes and it worked for us on the night.

“We attacked whenever we had possession and had our chances to score on either side of half time. We couldn’t score, but we didn’t allow Al Ain to score.

“We must also be realistic because Al Ain are a big team and playing on their home pitch. So I am pretty happy to return with a point.”

Shabab set out to play with a compact approach, with the players in midfield and defence leaving little room for the likes of Gyan and Brosque to manoeuvre.

Likewise, the Abdulrahmans were given hardly any space with close marking, which was the feature of Shabab’s game.

Paqueta has gone on record that their objective was to finish in the top four and he said that has not changed.

“We want to play to our true potential and at the moment, we are playing better than that,” the Brazilian said. “I am very pleased how our team has progressed during the season, but we are still halfway in the season and a lot of work ahead.”

Shabab face Al Dhafra in the President’s Cup quarter-finals on Monday.

Sanchez Flores remained noncommittal regarding the transfer status of Romanian midfielder Mirel Radoi and Brazilian winger Michel Bastos.

“We have to respect the players,” he said when asked to confirm whether Al Ain were consdiering shipping out Radoi and Bastos, who is recovering from a broken arm, in this month’s transfer window.

“Radoi is a member of the team that won two league titles and Bastos is injured. I will leave that for the club management to decide on the future at the club.”

Sanchez Flores was left to rue the missed scoring chances by his players last night, which left Al Shabab returning with a valuable away point.

“We created more chances but couldn’t score against a team that played deep throughout for the entire game,” he said.

“So when we cannot score from those chances against an opponent who were defending deep, then obviously we cannot win. Still, we didn’t lose, and that is some consolation.

“Again, we need to go back to the drawing board and work our way up. We still have a long way ahead and we will try to keep improving. There are lots of games to be played and we are only 10 points behind the first team, Al Ahli.

“At the moment, we are not thinking of winning the league, but win every game we play and then we’ll see if we have any serious chances. Apart from the league, we also have the President’s Cup and the Asian Champions League to prepare for.”

Al Ain meet Al Wasl in the President’s Cup quarter-finals on Monday.

Elsewhere on Thursday, penalty kicks by Fellype Gabriel and Ze Carlos helped Sharjah to a 2-0 home victory over Al Wasl. Sharjah rose to fourth place on 26 points, level with third-place Al Jazira, while Wasl stayed in 10th place with 17 points.

Baniyas started the second half of the league campaign with a 4-1 home win over Ajman. Marcelinho, Yousef Jaber, Ahmed Malalla and Carlos Munoz gave the hosts a comfortable lead before Waleed Ahmed pulled one back for Ajman.

Baniyas are ninth with 20 points while Ajman are 12th with eight points, level with 13th-place Dubai for the last relegation spot.