Al Shabab aim to capitalise on home support

Dubai: Al Shabab is hoping home advantage will work to their advantage as they take on Al Gharafa of Qatar in their opening match of the 2012 AFC Champions League later tonight.

"It is always very important to start any competition with a positive result. This will be a high standard match as Al Gharafa has some good players and a good coach [Bruno Metsu]. But our players are very motivated to start this competition with an excellent result and then take the momentum forward," Al Shabab coach Paulo Bonamigo told media at the pre-match press conference yesterday.

"We have only six matches in the group, three at home and three away. So it is very important for us to start well. The group is very well balanced and ten points will be enough to qualify to the next stage and this will be our objective. And since this is a home match, we expect our players to be fully focused so that we start with all three points," he added.

"Both teams have some technically sound players and I am sure both will be out to play some offensive football. On our part, we need to be very concentrated on the minor aspects in the match and we cannot afford to lose our focus for even a moment," the Brazilian stressed.

Al Shabab was among the last teams qualifying to the main draw of the ACL 2012 following their 3-0 drubbing of Uzbekistan's Neftchi Club last month to join Al Gharafa (Qatar), Pirouzi (Iran) and Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) in Group D.

"This is a very important encounter for us as this is our first match and we want to begin our campaign in the AFC Champions League on a winning note," Metsu told media.

"Al Shabab has a balanced team and they have good foreign professionals. The match will be difficult, but if we win then we have a good chance to carry forward this momentum into the other group matches," Metsu added.

The Frenchman, who was once the UAE national team coach, said he has adequate experience to ensure Al Gharafa travels back to Qatar with full points.

"I think we do have an advantage over Al Shabab, but then we also know we can't ignore some aspects as this is football and they too are here for a win. Our players are mentally and physically prepared and we promise to play well," he said.