Al Shabab dethrone GCC Clubs Cup holders Al Nasr with home win in semi-final second leg

3-1 aggregate victory sends Shabab into May 27 final against Omani club Al Seeb, who AGL side beat twice in group stage

Al Nasr's Renan Garcia, centre, fends off Carlos Villanueva of Al Shabab during their GCC Clubs Cup semi-final second leg at Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai on May 19, 2015. Sarah Dea / The National
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Al Shabab 2 Al Nasr 0 (Shabab win 3-1 on aggregate)

Shabab: Henrique Luvannor 17’, Carlos Villanueva 34’ pen

Man of the match: Henrique Luvannor

DUBAI // Al Shabab are through to the final of the GCC Clubs Championship with a comfortable 2-0 win over defending champions Al Nasr at the Maktoum Bin Rashid Stadium on Tuesday night.

First-half goals from Henrique Luvannor and Carlos Villanueva gave Shabab a 3-1 aggregate win in their semi-final tie. They will meet Omani club Al Seeb in the final on May 27.

“I am very happy because our first half was perfect tactically,” said Caio Junior, the Shabab coach. “Personally, I believe this is the best first half we have played this season. We scored two goals, but it could have been three or four.

“The second half was different because Nasr had to try and get a goal, and for Shabab, the idea was to control the game tactically. It was not easy because the Nasr No 8 (Brett Holman) and No 10 (Pablo Hernandez) played very well.”

In the other semi-final, Seeb edged Qatari club Al Rayyan on away goals following a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night. The first leg in Oman had finished 0-0.

Shabab played Seeb in the group stages, winning their two matches 3-1 and 4-0. The Omanis have since been relegated to the second division after finishing at the bottom of their domestic league, but Caio Junior warned it would not be easy as Seeb will be on their home ground.

“We have played against Seeb two times, but I believe Seeb are a different team now,” he said. “They have changed some foreign players, and I need to watch their last few games with attention and I need to understand why Seeb are in the final.

“So we need to respect them. We need to go with confidence, but with respect.”

Shabab showed both against Nasr. Starting with the advantage of an away goal following their 1-1 draw in the first leg two weeks ago, Shabab got off to an ideal start with Luvannor nodding home the opener from an Azizbek Haydarov corner in the 17th minute.

The hosts should have been 2-0 on the half-hour mark, but Edgar Bruno was denied by the post. The lanky Brazilian striker was in great position after Nasr goalkeeper Ahmed Shambieh had punched a Luvannor attempt into his path, but he shot into the near post.

A minute later, Luvannor earned Shabab a penalty after being brought down by a sliding Shambieh and Villanueva converted from the spot in the 34th minute to make it 2-0.

Nasr had their chances and were unfortunate not to get a goal in the opening session, with Pablo Hernandez hitting the post in the final minute before the break.

"Congrats to Al Shabab," said Ivan Jovanovic, the Nasr coach. "They have qualified for the final and I hope they win the title. They were better than us tonight, especially in the first half. They scored two goals in the beginning of the game.

“We tried to score a goal, but it was obvious we did not have the freshness and the movement in our game.

“I cannot have any complaints about my players. I think they tried a lot in the game. We didn’t make a good game, but my players gave a lot of effort. Now we have to be prepared for the game against Al Ain.”

arizvi@thenational.ae

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