Dubai: Cesare Prandelli hailed his team’s mentality even after Al Nasr were held to a goalless draw by Sharjah in their opening round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Friday.
Despite enjoying a major share of possession, Prandelli’s boys led by the Brazilian duo of Wanderley Santos and new signing Marcelo Cirino da Silva could not find their way past a stubborn home team defence.
“We played against a very well organised team that was pushing us all the time. We tried to find the spaces till the end, but kept missing out on that final touch. We know the league is very long and this is just one game,” Prandelli told media after the match.
“If you ask me for positives, then the one big thing that gave me a lot of joy is the ability of my team to fight till the end. It is not a good feeling to return home with one point, but the players never gave up till the very end and that is one quality that will go a long way as the season progresses,” the Italian added.
Al Nasr had scoring chances, but the home team simply showed better resolve in countering everything thrown at them. It was new recruit da Silva bringing things to life when his cross from the right flank took too much of curve and went out of reach for a chasing Jasim Yaqoub.
Nine minutes into the second half and Abdul Aziz Barrada sent his header off a corner over the goal with no one challenging him. The visitors pressed with even more vigour and Wanderley’s long range effort in the 69th minute was parried away to safety by Ahmad Juma [Dida].
“These sort of games are never easy and chances of losing after being caught on the counter are high. But we tried to play for a win from the first minute,” Prandelli admitted.
“The mentality of the players is a standout quality for me and I appreciate this from them. There are still some situations that we need to improve upon especially our presence near the box and this will happen in due course of time,” he added.
Sharjah coach Jose Peseiro, meanwhile, is confident his full quota of four foreign professionals will be on call following a hasty clearance of formalities by the club.
Chilean playmaker Cesar Pinares and Slovakian winger Vladimir Weiss are certain in putting pen to paper for ‘The King’ within the next couple of
days along with an unnamed Brazilian striker. Sharjah already have defender Ryan McGowan on their roster this season, and the Australian gave a good account of himself during his team’s opener against Al Nasr, late on Friday.
“I am sure that we will have the new players training with us by Sunday or Monday,” Peseiro told Gulf News.
“One of the players was scheduled to arrive tonight [Saturday] and the other on Sunday. So I expect all their registration formalities to be completed by on a quick basis so that they can join training latest by Monday,” the Portuguese coach added.
The coach, however, stressed that he would not be taking unfit players. “We have a strict fitness test at the club and all of them will have to undergo medical test. It is already late and we want players who are ready to take on the challenge for Sharjah,” Peseiro said.
“All three who come in need to know that they need to start playing as soon as they join the club. As far as I am aware, all three have shown that they are signing for Sharjah, and this is what I hope as well,” he added.
Sharjah’s next match will be away against Al Dhafra on September 21.
