No favourites yet, says Farias

DUBAI — For Al Wasl Brazilian coach Sérgio Farias, their sweeping 4-0 away victory over arch-rivals Al Shabab at the Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium on Saturday is just the beginning.

Published: Tue 5 Oct 2010, 12:41 AM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 4:34 AM

Alexander Oliveira scored twice (14^th and 93^rd minute) and Yeste and Saeed Al Kas struck in the 27^th and 91^st minutes respectively to power the boys in yellow to a dominant 4-0 victory over the hapless Al Shabab and top the standings’ table for the first time.

“We were the better side on the pitch,” the Brazilian manager told newsmen in a post-match press conference. “It’s premature to say we are front-runners for the title. We have a long way to go in what I believe is a wide open contest,” Farias said. “Let’s take it step by step and plan it on a match-to-match basis. Our players were determined to restore their lead in the competition. The big crowd of our faithful fans has contributed tremendously to the well-deserved victory. I would like to thank our fans for their strong and firm support for our players. They are making the job of our players easier,” he added.

Farias said he was a bit wary of Al Shabab. “We respect our opponents and had a feeling that after losing to Al Nasr last week, Al Shabab players would be determined to bounce back. Al Shabab played a very big game in the second half against Al Nasr despite the defeat and we were very much concerned about facing the ‘wounded lions’ at home and in front of their fans,” he said.

The Al Wasl coach, however, had a game plan ready for this rivals. “I have watched Al Shabab’s recent games and knew how to stop their strikers. Most of the Al Shabab threat comes from the left flank and for this reason I had instructed our defenders to keep an eye on it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Al Shabab’s Brazilian coach Paulo Bonamigo admitted that Al Wasl deserved to win.

“My players didn’t give their best and did nothing right throughout the 90 minutes,” he said. “It was not our day. The players were under pressure and did nothing to improve. We have made mistakes which were exploited by our opponents,’’ he added.