Dubai: Al Shabab coach Miroslav Djukic is convinced his side is on the right path following their hard-fought 1-0 home win against Al Dhafra in the 24th round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Friday.

Youngster Sa’ad Khamis Sa’ad, one of the rising stars in line for the AGL Annual Awards next month, scored his debut goal when he applied the finishing touches in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Abdullah Sultan Al Nasri in the 15th minute of play.

The home team then gallantly defended their lead to take maximum points, but remained in eighth position with 29 points — one spot behind their opponents who stayed seventh with 32.

“It’s a much-needed win and the three points that come along,” Djukic said. “As I have said in the past, this has always been a solid team and we are well on the right path even though we come to the end of the season. All of us now know where we should be concentrating for the next season,” he added.

However, much of the attention this weekend was riveted on the four teams which face the possible danger of getting relegated at the end of the season. Rooted at the bottom of the 14-team table, Bani Yas has Emirates, Dibba and Kalba joining them, and their results over the next two rounds will decide who will remain and who will face the drop.

Bani Yas was the only team to come up with a gutsy performance. Leading Al Nasr 2-1 in Dubai, the team looked set to get full points until the 83rd minute when the Blue Wave grabbed a late equaliser that left Bani Yas rooted at the bottom, albeit with the addition of a vital point.

“This is not the way we wanted the match to end,” Al Nasr coach Dan Petrescu fumed, after his side dropped vital points. “In the dressing room we had made it amply clear that we need the three points, but that is not what happened on the field. We have far too many injuries now and this has made things even more difficult for us as we need to pay adequate attention to the President’s Cup final against Al Wahda [on May 18].”

Emirates, who were tied at 13 points with Bani Yas going into the 24th round, did well to barely pull away with a hard-fought 3-2 home win against Kalba. But their fears are far from over as they desperately need a win in their next round when they travel to Abu Dhabi to take on Bani Yas on May 3.

Kalba and Dibba, in 11th and 12th places respectively, continued on 18 points each, knowing fully well that only full points in their next rounds can give them some sort of reprieve.

Ten-man Dibba went down 0-2 to Al Wasl, which remained in third place with a club record of 51 points, while Kalba’s loss against Emirates sees the club from Fujairah facing a mountain of worry as they take on second-placed Al Ahli next week.

RESULTS

(Friday’s matches)

Al Shabab 1 Al Dhafra 0

Dibba 0 Al Wasl 2

Emirates 3 Kalba 2

Al Nasr 2 Bani Yas 2