Abu Dhabi: Al Shabab coach Caio Junior hailed his side’s 2-1 comeback victory over Al Ain in the Gulf Cup, saying that it was a ‘perfect strategy’ well executed by his boys.
“We won because we area strong team,” said Junior, whose team is now sitting at the top of the table thanks to the brace of goals from Brazilian Jo Alves. “We wanted to control the first half as Al Ain is a tough team and I wanted my team to finish on level terms. However, we conceded a goal but we were the better side in the second half,” added Junior.
Though Jo, who played for Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, hogged the limelight with his double strike for Al Shabab, it was their Chilean midfielder Carlos Andres Villanueva who should be credited for masterminding the amazing comeback.
Junior unleashed Villanueva soon after the change of ends as his team trailed by a goal and it immediately changed the course of play. The attacking medio always looked threatening with the ball and his defense-splitting through balls often left the Al Ain defense in a spot of bother.
“I know Villanueva is different and he only played for 45 minutes. He created that first goal and is a very quality player and you will see a lot from him,” revealed Junior, who felt that both teams were evenly matched as the opposing team too missed several key players.
“If they were sans few key players then we also missed out on some players. Shabab has six points in the Gulf Cup because we work really hard on our game,” asserted Junior.
Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic revealed that he was extremely ‘sad’ to lose the encounter. “In my opinion, we didn’t deserve to lose the game. In the first half, we controlled the game and in the second may not be like the first but mistakes saw us concede those two goals. Some of our players who didn’t play for long should gain experience from this game and get some form,” felt Dalic, adding that, all is not lost and his side will come back strongly.
