Talk of Al Shabab’s recent end-of-season collapses has only provided fuel for their drive towards the AFC Champions League places, according to playmaker Carlos Villanueva.
Edgar Bruno’s late strike against Fujairah on Sunday ended a three-match winless Arabian Gulf League run and halted fears of another near miss for Asia’s elite club competition.
In the previous two seasons, they have frustratingly finished one spot outside the qualifying spots after stumbling towards the finish.
The Hawks operate with a smaller budget than their direct rivals and have a shallower playing squad.
Despite these drawbacks, they have regularly been in the mix at the front and currently sit third.
Chile star Villanueva has played a major role in confounding the odds since joining six years ago and stated the doubts only add motivation for the final two games, starting with Friday’s clash at second-placed Al Jazira.
“Edgar’s goal was very important,” the 29-year-old said.
“This result is like petrol for us, to face the two games we have in front. We want to fight for second and third.
“It would be a huge achievement for us. The other teams invest more money than us, but we are always fighting for the top four.
“Nobody talks about that, only about Al Shabab dropping points at the end of the season.
“We have had a very good season, though the last three games were disappointing. People will obviously talk about that. But we beat Fujairah, in a tough game.
"Now we focus on the game with Al Jazira.”
The top three are guaranteed an ACL place and avoid the lottery of the President’s Cup, which provides a further entry point.
Last season, Al Ain’s victory in that competition saw fourth-placed Shabab drop down into the GCC Club Cup.
Under former boss Marcos Paqueta in 2013/14, they lost three of their last five fixtures. Villanueva could not pin down one reason for this regular decline.
He said: “We always talk about it, among the players. Maybe it is because our squad is not too big – it could be that.
“We have also had injuries, like Rashid Hassan. He could help a lot and we are missing him.
“We are trying to fight. We have won our last two games [in all competitions], so that will give us a lot of energy until the end of the season.”
