Shabab Al Ahli's UAE League Cup campaign started with a shock. The team had to fight back twice just to get a 2-2 draw against Hatta. Argentine midfielder Federico Cartabia was not happy. He called out his teammates and said the squad needs to take responsibility.
Cartabia scored the first equalizer in the 64th minute. After the match, he did not hold back. "We feel a great sadness because we entered the match aiming for victory and tried to apply our usual style, but the result was not what we wanted. Now we must look ahead and work on improving our performance in the coming matches," he said. For Cartabia, a draw is not good enough for a club that expects to win trophies.
According to live match centers, Hatta took the lead twice in the match, with Mohamed Ben Larbi scoring in first-half stoppage time and Firas Ben Larbi adding another at 45+1, while Shabab Al Ahli's goals came from Cartabia and Joao Marcelo.
Hatta went ahead twice. Shabab Al Ahli answered both times-first through Cartabia, then with Joao Marcelo's goal in the 85th minute. Even after coming back, Cartabia made it clear that just avoiding a loss is not enough for Shabab Al Ahli. "Playing for Shabab Al Ahli always means seeking victory, and a draw is not a satisfactory result for us," he said. The pressure is on the squad to deliver every time.
Cartabia called for honest self-examination. "The next phase requires us to conduct self-criticism and a comprehensive review of our performance, learning from the negatives that appeared," he said. He wants the team to raise its standards if they want to reach their goals in this competition.
He also gave credit to Hatta for their effort. Cartabia said they deserved respect for how they played. "I congratulate Hatta for what they did-they played a great match and deserve respect. As for us, we must focus on ourselves and double our efforts in upcoming training sessions," he said.
Prior to this match, Shabab Al Ahli had a dominant head-to-head record against Hatta, including a 10:0 victory in their previous encounter on June 2, 2024. The club officially marked this fixture as their opening game in the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup, with head coach André Jardine emphasizing respect for Hatta and readiness for the new tournament.
This draw comes as Shabab Al Ahli continues to rebuild its squad. The club recently brought in new attacking players, as reported earlier. But for now, the main challenge is inside the team: fixing mistakes and getting back the winning mentality that defines Shabab Al Ahli.
For a club with big ambitions in every domestic competition, dropping points against Hatta is a warning. Cartabia's message is clear-Shabab Al Ahli cannot let mistakes slide if they want to win trophies. The next games will show if this call for self-reflection leads to the ruthless consistency expected at the top of UAE football.
