Already assured of top spot, Al Shabab finished their Arabian Gulf Cup Group B campaign off with a 1-1 draw at Fujairah.
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Caio Junior’s men made it four games unbeaten although their three-game winning streak came to an end as Ibrahim Khamis rescued a point for the home side in this dead rubber.
Fujairah’s chances of progression were ended on Tuesday after victories for Al Wahda and Dibba Al Fujairah. It was a 2-0 triumph for the Clarets over Sharjah that saw Javier Aguirre’s side qualify behind Shabab in second place.
With both teams using the game as an opportunity to test young or fringe players and rest others in preparation for some crucial upcoming league matches, there was a mixture of youth and experience on show.
A number of players were making their comeback from long-term injury lay-offs, including Hawks’ defender Mohammed Marzooq. It was the visitors who opened the scoring after 28 minutes with defender Mahmood Qassim breaking the deadlock with a brilliant bullet header from a corner, a lead which they held at the half-time interval.
The home side didn’t have to wait long though for an equaliser after the interval. Some clever footwork and a cross from Muhaned Khamis in the 54th minute found his namesake in the box, and the striker scuffed a shot beyond Hassan Hamza to level the score.
After that it was the hosts who looked more likely to force a winner. UAE Olympic team goalkeeper Hamza was forced into making a good stop in the closing minutes of the game to deny Fujairah substitute Rashed Hassan from netting a winner.
