AFC.com
Shahab Al Ahli Dubai head coach Mahdi Ali has set a lofty target of securing maximum points in their remaining matches starting with Monday’s opponents Al Gharafa at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.
Very little separates the teams in Group C with Shabab Al Ahli, Al Gharafa and Foolad Khouzestan FC all unbeaten after three matches.
The Emirati side were on the verge of defeat against Al Gharafa three days ago but a Federico Cartabia injury time equaliser earned them a draw. They will face the same opponents with a point to prove on Monday.
“We want to finish first and want to win the three matches. We are concentrating on tomorrow and hope to come out with a positive result. It is an important match to put us on track, and a win will give us more confidence and motivation,” said Ali.
He admitted that his team need to polish their finishing after scoring only three goals in three matches.
“We have been working on our final touch by watching videos and discussing in our meetings. Concentration is important in front of goal and we hope to score in the next game.”
Out of nine goals scored in Group C, five have come after 80 minutes of play and Al Gharafa tactician Andrea Stramaccioni has urged his players to maintain maximum focus.
“We know that we will face a very skillful team with a lot of quality in front. You can see from the previous match how they put our defence under pressure in the first 25 minutes. Our defence did well but we were also a little bit lucky.
“Tomorrow we need to play a clever match. We know our abilities and what we can do. My team must learn from what happened in the last game. We must concentrate not for 90 minutes but for 100 minutes. That’s how we need to be ready,” said Stramaccioni.
Al Gharafa lead Group C on goal difference but the West Asian side were disappointed not to secure three points after being caught on the counter-attack in their last match.
“Everyone was very sad. The day after, we had a meeting because my team is also very young and they can be emotional. We were not well positioned in minute 92 because we were focused on scoring a second goal and that is our responsibility as a team.
“That’s why we reset our mentality and tomorrow we will play with the same energy as three days ago. We have to find the same energy that we had and focus on the remaining matches,” Stramaccioni added.