Cerezo asks foreign players to deliver after loss to Al Dhafrah

Dubai: Al Shabab coach Toninho Cerezo has asked his foreign players to raise their level if the former champions are to achieve their potential this season.

"Our UAE players have been doing their job. Now we need our foreign players to stand up and start delivering for the sake of the team," Cerezo told Gulf News after his team went down to Al Dhafrah.

It was Abbas Moya shining for the visiting team as he scored a fine brace to help Al Dhafrah to a shock 2-1 win late on Sunday in their third week encounter of the UAE Football League.

The Brazilian combination of Carlos Renato and Pedrao clicked for a second time in succession for the home side with the last-named finding the back of the net for the second time on the trot.

But the visitors never gave up. They equalised when Moya drove in from the penalty spot on the hour after Essam Dahi had brought down skipper Mohammad Salem.

Then they got the second in the 67th minute when he cleverly accepted at the top of the area and placed past Salem Abdullah on the Al Shabab goal.

"I don't think our foreign players are doing enough to back up the UAE national players. Our foreign players are much better at technical level and I would expect them to move forward and be of assistance to the [UAE] national players. They need to see how they can contribute more to the success of the team," Cerezo said.

With the wily Carlos Villanueva out for two matches due to his red card last week, Cerezo experimented a bit with two midfielders who were to assist in the defence.

But with Bahraini Hassan Ali Baba, who was starting for the first time with Al Shabab this season, looking a bit shaky, Cerezo had to quickly re-think how he was going to keep the visitors at bay.

"The game was even and equal and that is the reason why I would have wanted the foreign players to bring in that something extra for the team," Cerezo stated.