The draw leaves the Iranian team in third place with two points out of two matches.
“We created opportunities successfully but six of our players were up on the field trying to score the second goal. That was a lack of experience and we accept the draw. You cannot make a mistake against a team like Shabab, they will punish you,” said Nekounam.
After two draws from the opening two matches, the former Iran player hopes his team will turn the corner in the hotly contested group where it trails the leader Al-Gharafa by two points.
“We put in all our efforts to win this game but there are times when we were unlucky. The team created many opportunities but we didn’t score. There is still a long way to go in the competition so hopefully our players will have more experience in the next matches,” said Nekounam.