Abu Dhabi: The Arabian Gulf League came alive on Sunday night with defending champions Al Ahli suffering a 4-2 shock defeat in their own backyard at the hands of Al Shabab.
Al Ahli were cruising 2-0 just a minute into the second half when hell broke loose and in a span of 15-odd minutes, Al Shabab scripted one of the remarkable comeback victories.
The result gave a clear indication that Al Shabab has managed to spot a weak link in the Al Ahli armoury, where the defence struggled to cope with the ariel ball from set pieces. Custodian Ahmad Dida was also far from his self and this was his worst performance under the bar as he had not conceded four goals in a match since 2011-2012.
Disbelief and dejection writ wide on the face of Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu: “What can I say about this kind of game? For 55 minutes, we were playing well and we didn’t give Shabab any chances to come near our goal. We scored two goals and created a few more situations as well. We then conceded three goals in 12 minutes — two of which were from set pieces and, after that, everything was finished.”
Olaroiu is also well aware that the loss is shattering and it will be difficult for his wards to put that behind quickly.
“It’s a difficult loss, especially with the way in which we conceded the goals. We were taught a lesson tonight. It’s good that we learnt something from this because it’s the beginning of the season and we have to wake up,” said Olaroiu adding that lapse in concentration hurt his side the most.
“We lost our concentration, confidence and made a lot of mistakes. Attention is a big part of the game and when we didn’t have our attention like we had in the situations when we conceded those goals — we paid a big price. Now we have to come back with the way that we play and the way that we have done in these situations before,” added Olaroiu.
For Al Shabab and their coach Caio Junior, this victory was a huge shot in the arm. The coach will be more than pleased with his strike force’s ability to turn around things. Especially, the Brazilian Henrique Luvannor, who contributed with two brilliant goals that completely changed the completion of the match.
“I’m very happy because we executed our set pieces very well and I changed Henrique Luvannor’s position. He was playing on the left flank in the first half whereas in the second — I deployed him as a striker alongside Edgar [Bruno Da Silva]. For me, this situation changed the game,” revealed Junior, who attributed the success to the belief his wards showed despite trailing by two goals.
“I think my team had sufficient belief that they could change the game because we were ready. We had two months in our training camp with friendly games. We were ready because my players wanted to win this game very much.”
Monday night also saw first division champions Ittihad Kalba get on the points table after settling for a 1-1 draw at home to Bani Yas. Both goals of the evening came via penalties.
Kalba’s Danilo Petrolli converted from the penalty spot after Khalifa Salem had been fouled in the’ D’ by Yousef Jaber. Bani Yas were rewarded with a penalty in the second half and Joan Verdu completed the formality.
