Al Shabab coach hails team

Al Shabab coach Paulo Bonamigo heralded the reliability of his squad's depth in their 1-0 home win over Ajman in an Etisalat Cup fifth group match on Saturday. Eisa Mohammad bagged the winner on 75 minutes.

Bonamigo said: "I was expecting a tough match against a side which we cannot forget has only lost once this season, against Al Wahda last week. We were expecting a very difficult game, especially as we had so many players absent [seven from the first 11] due to injuries and international appearances. We gave the players a mission that we are not only a team of 11 but a squad of 44. We gave chances to other boys who are always working hard and waiting for their chance. The boys who replaced the others did a very good job. We found the first half difficult but corrected our mistakes in order to take three points." The side were without foreigners Ciel and Haydarov.

"We didn't prepare particularly well; following the GCC Champions League final win we only trained three times. But we showed the maturity, personality, power and concentration to come out of one competition and continue with our winning spirit and momentum into the next."