Side may be leaking goals but Hawks defender confident side can tighten up and achieve derby delight
Dubai: Al Shabab captain Mohammad Marzouq is confident his team can make amends for their recent miserable run of form with victory against Al Ahli in the final of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Saturday.
After a bright start to the season that saw The Hawks at the top of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) standings, Al Shabab have slipped into eighth place with 25 points after 21 rounds of the competition.
At the end of the first half of the 26-round league, Al Shabab had notched 20 points, while the remaining five points have been added following their lone win against cellar-placed Bani Yas and a couple of draws with Sharjah and Dibba in their last eight games.
“A match between Al Ahli and Al Shabab has a strong tradition. It is always fierce competition when our two teams play each other. It is a derby in the most relevant sense and neither wants to lose,” Marzouq told Gulf News.
“It is not our fault that we are in the current position as most often we have played well and yet the results have not been in our favour. So it is very important for us to have one good game at this final and get back the confidence that we have lost over a period of time,” he added.
Marzouq has been at the heart of the Al Shabab defence that has not been up to the mark — especially in the second part of the league. And besides a season-long stint with Al Jazira during the 2010-11 season — when the Abu Dhabi club won the President’s Cup and the Arabian Gulf League crown — Marzouq has been a loyal Hawk, marshaling the defence for his club.
During his tenure with the Al Mamzar club, the 28-year-old Marzouq has won two President’s Cup titles (in 2010 and 2013) — and a third trophy would be more than welcome. “It is very important for us to win this one, especially at this time when we are not exactly at our very best,” Marzouq admitted.
“For sure, we need to win this game as much as Al Ahli. The only difference is that a win for us would make a world of difference as we try to put our campaign back on track. It will really give us a lot of confidence for the most difficult part of the league,” he added.
Marzouq will need to be on his toes, however.
Al Shabab have a goal difference of minus 17, having scored only 20, but conceding 37 so far through their leaky defence.
Hopefully, things should be better now with new coach Miroslav Djukic spending ten days with his squad in training in Doha, while also playing out a friendly goalless draw against Qatari side Al Gharafa. “It was important for us to spend time together and try to rejuvenate ourselves as a family. As a club we are going through a tough time and we need to see how we can find the right path to get out of this situation,” Marzouq observed.
“During training all the players have been keen to give off their best and prove to the coach and to themselves that they are at their best to play in one of their most important games of the season,” he added.
“This is the hallmark of Al Shabab. We are a team. We are one family that is always relying on teamwork and backing each other on and off the field. Tomorrow we are in the final and this one match can change things for us.”
0 comments: