Dubai: Al Nasr coach Ivan Jovanovic has called on his players to seize moment and make the President’s Cup title a reality after more than two and-a-half decades.
Al Nasr have won the President’s Cup on three previous occasions — 1985, 1986 and 1989. The Bur Dubai club has also come close to winning the prestigious competition another five times with the last occasion being in 1997 when they lost to Al Shabab on penalties 5-4 after being tied 1-1 at full time.
On Saturday, Al Nasr’s ambition of clinching a fourth crown after 27 long years reached the last stage as they warded off Al Shabab 4-2 in the shoot-out following a 1-1 deadlock after 120 minutes. However, before that Al Nasr had to overcome two tough teams, Sharjah and defending champions Al Ain bringing in a new belief that they could go all the way.
“The truth is that the atmosphere in our dressing room is so different and everyone is extremely high on confidence. Especially after our win against Al Ain we fancied our chances of reaching the final after such a long period. And now that we have achieved our goal we should not miss this chance of winning the final match of this season,” Jovanovic told media on Saturday.
“I am proud of my players and happy for everyone involved with Al Nasr. We have worked very hard throughout the season and finally we are where we deserve to be,” he added.
Al Nasr will play cross-city opponents Al Ahli in the final to be played at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on June 3. Al Ahli scored once in each half to secure a 2-0 win over Al Dhafra in the second semi-final played in Al Dhafra.
This will be the second final for Al Nasr following their successful campaign in the Arabian Gulf Cup that came at the cost of a 4-1 win over Sharjah Club.
League champions last season, Al Ahli’s consolation came last Wednesday when they drew 3-3 against new champions Al Ain to qualify for the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League that has been scheduled for the last week of August.
“For both of us this [the final] will be the last match of the season. It’s one last match and I suppose nothing will really matter, not even the fatigue,” Jovanovic said.
The Serbian was thankful to the fans who came out in large numbers to support them. “The idea is to finish the season on a high. The fans have backed us all the way and it would be great to have them come and support us one more time so that we can return with the President’s Cup,” Jovanovic added.
