Kuwait Club and Shabab Al-Ahli players vie for the ball.

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 7: Kuwait Club's Montenegrin coach, Nebojsa Jovovic, praised his players for their performance in the 3-3 draw against UAE's Shabab Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League 2, at Kuwait Club Stadium in Kaifan during the fourth round of Group D.

The draw brought Kuwait Club's total to two points, while Shabab Al-Ahli moved to seven points, trailing leader Al-Hussein Irbid (9 points), who defeated Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi 2-1 in the same round. Nasaf Qarshi remains at 4 points.

Kuwait Club now needs to win its next two matches and hope Shabab Al-Ahli loses in the final two rounds to have a chance at progressing.

At the post-match press conference, Jovovic said, "The draw came at a time when it was hard to recover." He emphasized that his team performed strongly against a side filled with professional and international players.

On the other hand, Shabab Al-Ahli's Portuguese coach, Paulo de Sousa, noted that his team aimed for a win against Kuwait Club, but ultimately, the draw was acceptable given the match's flow.

De Sousa mentioned that his team had a strong start, but as the game progressed, it seemed to retreat, possibly waiting for the match to conclude without further issues. He acknowledged that Kuwait Club took advantage of its home advantage, scoring two consecutive goals. However, he praised his team’s resilience, as it worked hard in the second half to level the score.

By Hassan Mosa

Al-Seayassah/Arab Times Staff