News Center

Al Shabab bow out of AFC Champions League despite strong show at Esteghlal

Al Shabab became the last UAE team to exit this year’s AFC Champions League despite putting in a very strong performance away at Esteghlal in Iran on Wednesday night, drawing 0-0 at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran to be knocked out of the competition at the final 16 stage. Unfortunately for Al Shabab the damage had already been done with a 4-2 loss in the first leg at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, when Al Shabab were missing four key players through suspension, and it proved an insurmountable task for the Dubai-based team to recover the aggregate score, though Marcos Paqueta’s men gave a very good account of themselves in both ties.

Al Shabab put in a fine first half shift, enjoying the lion’s share of attacks and playing like a team with nothing to lose; knowing that they would need to win at least 3-0 in order to continue to the next stage. The Brazilian front pairing of Edgar and Luiz Henrique hustled and harried from the off as they did their best to recover the aggregate deficit, with good support from left-back Walid Abbas, who is always keen to get forward down the flank. Esteghlal’s intimidating home support were unusually quiet as they saw their side pegged back in their area for much of the opening forty five minutes, with Al Shabab streaming forward at every opportunity. Edgar fashioned Al Shabab’s first clear chance in the 27th minute before the Uzbekistan midfielder Haydarov Azizbek missed a good opportunity a minute later following excellent build-up play from the visitors. In the 36th minute Al Shabab were awarded a free kick in a promising position but when the ball eventually fell to Rashid Hassan in the box, the attack-minded player blasted high and wide. Just before the break Al Shabab had a great opportunity to open the scoring as Luiz Henrique managed a great take from an over-the-top ball, controlling quickly before unleashing a brilliant piledriver of a shot which crashed back off the intersection of the crossbar and far post, keeping the scores level at 0-0 at half time.

The second half started in similar style with Mahmood Qassim blasting wide from a great position after a good break by Al Shabab. Just after the hour mark, Esteghlal conjured the first moment of real danger for Al Shabab’s defense as the ball cannoned off several players in the area before finally being claimed by goalkeeper Salem Abdulla. The rare action in Al Shabab’s box awoke the home crowd and two minutes later the visitors survived another scare as Esteghlal were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the area, but Javad Nekounam’s bending effort was over the crossbar. The competitive spirit from both sets of players became more and more evident as the game wore on, with Esteghlal clearly unsettled at their inability to break Al Shabab down whilst the UAE side tried desperately to keep their Asian Champions League journey alive. The hosts saw a goal ruled out for offside in the 76th minute and two minutes later Hassan Ibrahim just missed the target with a header at the other end. With time ebbing away, Al Shabab’s chances too were waning but they still defended resolutely to keep a clean sheet in the 0-0 second leg draw.