Palestine’s wunderkind is settling in just fine at FC Arouca. Initially, there were worries that Dabbagh might suffer from the fact that he missed all of preseason and the team’s first four competitive fixtures of the season while awaiting his visa.
The Jerusalemite quickly put those concerns to rest; after debuting in a ten minute cameo against Porto in the Estadio do Dragão the forward quickly got down to business. In his third appearance he scored against Vitória SC and sparked a 2-2 comeback.
That, in turn, led to more significant playing time last week (a full half) in a 2-1 loss away to Moreirense. Which eventually brought us to Arouca’s home ground against holders Sporting Lisbon which saw Oday Dabbagh start for the first time.
The hosts were outmatched but Dabbagh was a constant source of danger and came close to scoring in the first half before equalizing in the second.
Unfortunately for Arouca, Dabbagh’s efforts in front of goal and a heroic goalkeeping display were not enough to avoid defeat. The club remains hovering around the relegation zone but look far more dangerous in attack than they did earlier in the season, in large part due to Dabbagh’s pressing and clever runs.
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