Late penalty secures Al Shabab victory over Sharjah

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  • On the evidence of the opening day, the fighting spirit has returned to Al Shabab.

    The Hawks edged a clash of upwardly-mobile competitors at Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Moldova forward Henrique Luvannor’s 83rd-minute penalty completing a come-from-behind victory against Sharjah.

    Outplayed but not defeated, this kind of resolve had been absent as the desire drained away in coach Caio Junior’s tricky second season in the Arabian Gulf league.

    Vaunted replacement Fred Rutten, recruited after spells at Dutch giants Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, will cherish the retort delivered following a dominant first half from the richly-assembled visitors.

    “We are a team who are developing more,” the 53-year-old said. “If we develop into a team who played like we did in the second half, I will be a very happy man.

    “I think we can play better football than the way we started. My team was nervous, it seemed.

    “We played in the first half to not make mistakes. In football, there are always mistakes.Al Shabab v Sharjah 07 (Read-Only)

    “You cannot be afraid to do that, it is not a good sign.”

    This was a harsh dose of reality for opposite number Giorgos Donis. One of four eye-catching summer recruits from Saudi Arabia as the King sought to avoid a third-successive brush with relegation, his famed defensive tactics proved his undoing last night.

    Despite this chastening result, the ex-Greece anchorman was unbowed about the prospects of his new charges.

    He said: “We didn’t leave the opponents with any clear chances. We were very compact, but football is very dangerous.

    “In the second half, we didn’t react well to set-pieces. We had two big mistakes and we lost the game.

    “But my players didn’t deserve to lose this game. I am optimistic for the future of my team.”

    Sharjah failed to build on forward Jamal Maroof’s early breakthrough, a side which conceded 40 goals in 26 games as they finished 11th last term unsurprisingly being unsuited to his approach.

    Erratic goalkeeper Abdullah Yousif was to blame for skipper Mohammed Marzooq’s headed leveller, a subsequent hand ball by full-back Abdulla Ghanem seeing lethal forward Henrique Luvannor confidently dispatch the late winner from 12 yards.

    There was much promise in Poland playmaker Adrian Mierzejewski’s lively league debut, while the redoubtable Digao replicated his form from Al Hilal to prove the only defender capable of digging in. A recalibration should bring future reward.

    Shabab survived a potential red card for centre-back Mohamed Ali Ayed after he chopped down No9 Gelmin Rivas – the fearsome hot shot purchased from Al Ittihad, who flickered intermittently – before the breakthrough arrived on 25 minutes.

    Mierzejewski spread the play then careered on into the penalty box, his mishit shot serendipitously teeing up Maroof to curl in from close range. A subsequent injury just before the interval then forced the 24-year-old’s removal.

    But Sharjah chose to retreat rather than push home the advantage. Punishment first appeared on 69 minutes as centre-back Marzooq beat Yousif to a whipped delivery from playmaker Tomas De Vincenti.

    Worse was soon to follow. The King could not hold back opponents who fell from third in 2014/15 to a dispiriting fifth, Luvannor stepping up from his illegally blocked shot to slide in the crucial penalty.

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