DUBAI // Abel Braga last night asked for time to fix Al Jazira’s defence following another nondescript performance in a 2-1 defeat at Al Shabab in the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Beaten 4-2 away at Dibba in their last Arabian Gulf League game, Jazira looked out of sorts again last night in the absence of most of their first-choice players.
An injury-time penalty, converted by Thiago Neves, gave them a consolation goal after Henrique Luvannor (61st minute) and Jo (68th minute) had put the hosts on course for a comfortable win.
Braga said he had few options in defence, a region that has been Jazira’s Achilles heel over the past couple of seasons.
“The problem [in defence] is not from now, but from three years,” said Braga, who returned to take charge of the team this summer, four years after leading Jazira to their first UAE league title.
“I believe they have been struggling with this problem since I left the team, so I need time to fix it. We have got Fares Juma [from Al Ain] and promoted Saif Khalfan from the Olympic team. Maybe we will get more reinforcements later, but for now, this is what I have and I have to work with what I have.”
Braga, however, was pleased with the performance of his young players and is looking forward to meeting Shabab again, in a league match next Wednesday, with all his missing stars, who are on international duty, back in Abu Dhabi.
“We did not play a bad match because we were playing with a young team,” said Braga. “I am really happy to see how they fought against a tough team like Shabab.
“We will be meeting them again next week and I think it will be a very different match to this. Many of our players are with their national teams and they will be back for the next match. So we will be a lot stronger and have a lot more options.”
Sharjah beat Dibba 4-1 in the other game.
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