Al Nasr 1 (Ibrahima Toure, 37’)
Al Shabab 1 (Nasser Masood, 19’)
Red card – Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr)
Man of the match – Carlos Villanueva (Al Shabab)
DUBAI // Ivan Jovanovic lauded his Al Nasr players on Thursday night after they battled with 10 men in the second half to share a point with Al Shabab.
Shabab took the lead through Nasser Masood in the 19th minute, but Nasr fought back to level the score in the 37th through Ibrahima Toure and then showed great spirit to hold on for a draw following Mahmoud Khamis’s 45th-minute expulsion after his second yellow card.
Even playing a man short, they looked better than the visitors moving forward and created several opportunities that kept the home fans entertained.
“I am very proud of how my players played both in the first half and the second half,” Jovanovic said. “In the first half, we controlled the pace of the game and the midfield line.
“Shabab had one chance and they opened the scores, but this did not take us out of the game. We continued to fight and finally managed to equalise, but the red card changed the whole balance of the game. We were forced to change the way we play.
“We had to close the gaps, get more organised at the back and try to create our chances on counter attacks. In order to play like this, you have to run a lot and put in a lot of effort on the field.
“That is why I am really proud of my players. Looking at the overall game, it’s a fair result, but for me, personally, looking at the effort my players made in the field, they are the winners tonight.”
Nasr did, indeed, deserve more from the game, and the Shabab coach Caio Junior was satisfied about returning with a point from the game.
The Brazilian said, however, that they could have generated more chances with their one-man advantage.
“Before the game, I thought getting one point here at Al Nasr would be a good result for us,” he said. “So I accept the result, but of course, we had 11 against 10 and Shabab could make only one goal. We tried but could not score.
"Anyway, one point against Nasr is good. Shabab played against three big teams in the first three games [after the Asian Cup break]. We lost 2-1 to Al Ain, beat Al Ahli 1-0 and now we finished 1-1 at Al Nasr. So four points against three of the best teams in this league is a good effort."
arizvi@thenational.ae
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