Ghanaian striker Prince Tagoe scored a hat-trick - with two of this three strikes coming in the second half - to earn his team a come-from-behind victory that saw them claim all three points in the Group D encounter.

Marcus Assuncao had given Al Shabab the lead in the 15th minute, only for Tagoe to level the scores on the half-hour mark. Two more strikes in the second half and a fourth Ettifaq goal from Abdulrahman Al Qahtani sealed the points for the Saudis.

“We didn’t have any concentration in the first half but at half time, I told the players to play with our usual style and play the short and quick passes in addition to increase the play on the flanks,” said Andone.

“Al Shabab made some mistakes in the game and we took advantage of these mistakes and scored four goals. We have quick players who can score goals and the win today will give us a big boost.

“We came to Dubai for a win and we were not looking for any other result. Regardless of this win, we still haven’t made it through to the next round and we must win the next game to remain at the top of the group.”

Ettifaq top Group D with nine points from four matches, two more than Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor while Sepahan from Iran are in third on four points.

Al Shabab prop up the table with three points and are on the verge of elimination having won just once in four games.

“Our form in the first half was good as the players were disciplined and they were fully concentrated on the game,” said coach Toninho Cerezo.

“However, in the second half, the performance dropped and we conceded three goals.

“We faced a strong opponent as they played with harmony and they had quick players. They also took advantage from the mistakes that we had and they scored four goals on the night.

“We have now a difficult task but we will try our best to continue our work in order to take advantage of our continental campaign. We have a group of players with certain capabilities and we will try to use the competition well.”