Dubai: Cosmin Olaroiu said that his Shabab Al Ahli Dubai is a work in progress after their hard-fought 4-1 win against Hatta in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) opener on Saturday.
Down to a 17th minute Samuel Rosa penalty, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai fought back with Makhete Diop scoring a brace on either side of half-time, while Mohammad Marzouq and Tomas De Vincenti got one each to give the home team full points.
“The shaky start was expected as we were nervous. This resulted in us making a lot of mistakes and that led to the penalty. But the most important thing for us was to just stick in there and follow the plan and get all three points,” Olaroiu explained.
“It was important for us to start well even though we didn’t play the way we wanted to do. And finally, four goals was a good result. In the second half we were forced to change a few things and that led to us being at a different level. We enjoyed more possession and finally we deserved this win. This team is a work in motion,” he added.
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai were forced to start without some of their key players who have been injured, including Esmail Al Hammadi, Majid Hassan and Walid Abbas. “The focus at all times was the three points as wins are always good for morale and a more positive team atmosphere,” Olaroiu noted.
“At the start conditions were tough for us, but we did well in the second half to improve and this is one quality of this team that makes me happy. Finally, it is so good to start with three points and we hope we can continue getting better with time,” he added.
Playing with just three foreign players in their ranks so far, Olaroiu is hopeful the administrators will choose what is best to take the team further. The Romanian has retained Senegalese striker Diop while bringing in Al Shabab’s Henrique Luvannor and Argentinian playmaker Tomas De Vincenti leaving two more openings for foreign signings.
“I am not the one who makes this decision on which player comes. The final decision will be with the manager of the team and I can only hope they choose the right players for the team,” the coach hoped.
Hatta coach Hadjievski Gjokica rued the absence of key players in his team. “Their absence made a huge difference for us, and then to make matters worse we lost Eisa [Obaid] to injury so early in the match, forcing us to change our formation. Honestly, I would have expected my team to come up with a better performance,” he said.
“We can’t stay on this match for too long. We’ve got to forget this result and just move one,” Gjokica urged.
