Dubai: Shabab Al Ahli Dubai’s assistant coach felt their task is not even half done despite an emphatic 4-0 romp against Emirates in their fourth round of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) late on Saturday.
Four different players scored as the newly-formed Shabab Al Ahli Dubai rebounded in fine fashion to a 4-0 thrashing of Emirates Club Ras Al Khaimah to hoist themselves up among the cream of the 12-team competition.
Stunned 1-2 by Al Ain in their last match, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai dominated throughout, and it was their Senegalese striker Makhete Diop giving the lead as early as the tenth minute. Henrique Luvannor doubled the lead in the 25th minute, while Moussa Sow - once again a part of Cosmin Olaroiu’s side following his return from loan at Turkey’s Besiktas – made it 3-0 at the half-time whistle.
After that it was the home side all the way as Shabab Al Ahli Dubai maintained a tight hold on proceedings till new Korean draft Chang Jin Moon completed the rout in fine fashion. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai had started off with a 4-1 win against Hatta followed by an emphatic 3-1 win against Ajman. However, they faltered against former 12-time champions Al Ain in their last round before recovering for yet another emphatic performance on Saturday night.
“This is what this team is all about. We were emphatic and we deserved this win. In our plan of things this is a very important step for us. We played strong and we stayed concentrated during the entire 90 minutes and this is the result,” Raducan told media after the match.
“What pleases me most is that our players understood the importance of staying concentrated throughout the match especially after our 3-3 result against Sharjah [in last week’s Arabian Gulf Cup]. In the second half we were tired and that is why we didn’t score,” he explained.
Raducan was pleased with the new Korean player scoring. “I am happy that he [Chang] scored as this will give his confidence as the league progresses. No doubt, we have a long way to go, but it is definitely a good feeling to keep pace with the competitors. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai is always considered one of the favourites and tonight’s win keeps us on track,” he added.
Emirates coach Ivan Hasek had very few reasons to explain the huge loss. “We can’t afford to make mistakes at this level,” the Emirates coach lamented.
“Tonight’s loss is our own doing. We made mistakes that we should never had made. We can’t do anything about it now. We did try in the second half, but a 3-0 lead was too much on any given day. We’ve got to look forward to our next match and make sure we are in a better position than this,” he added.
The fifth round of the AGL is scheduled for October 21 with Shabab Al Ahli Dubai travelling to Sharjah.
RESULTS
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 4 Emirates 0
Ajman 2 Al Ain 3
Al Nasr 3 Dibba 1
Hatta 3 Sharjah 2
Al Dhafra 2 Al Jazira 2
Al Wasl 2 Al Wahda 1
Standings
No. P W D L F A Pts
1. Al Wasl 4 3 1 0 9 5 10
2. Al Ain 4 3 1 0 10 5 10
3. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 4 3 0 1 12 4 9
4. Al Wahda 4 3 0 1 11 4 9
5. Al Nasr 4 2 1 1 8 5 7
6. Dibba 4 2 0 2 4 8 6
7. Al Dhafra 4 1 2 1 8 8 5
8. Emirates 4 1 1 2 8 10 4
9. Al Jazira 4 1 1 2 6 8 4
10. Hatta 4 1 0 3 4 13 3
11. Sharjah 4 0 1 3 3 7 1
12. Ajman 4 0 0 4 4 10 0
