Al Sadd coach Hussein Ammota instructing players during training. Picture: Jayan Orma
It will be tough for Al Sadd to recover from their tough Asian Champions League exit but they can use the Qatar Stars League to get back to winning ways. While other teams started their campaign early, Sadd will play their opening QSL match today. They will take on Al Kharaitiyat at the Al Khor stadium.
Sadd coach Hussein Ammota knows that it will be tough for his players, mentally and physically, to get over the Asian Champions League exit at the hands of Saudi side Al Hilal. “Al Hilal was a complete team; it was a very physical game. I think they had a better preparation than us. We played with Muriqui even though he was carrying an injury. He will need an operation and Khalfan too hasn’t had much game time of late due to injuries,” said Ammota during the pre-match press conference.
But Ammota has asked his players to put that match behind them and focus on the QSL. “I thanked the players for the efforts in the game, they did very well. I asked them to forget the game and focus now totally on Kharaitiyat and the League.”
And this is a game that Sadd will not take lightly with their opponents having held them to a draw. “Last season in the first half of the season Kharaitiyat managed to take two points from us. We must be mindful of this, they raise their game in the big match and we do not want a repeat of that.”
With Lekhwiya having had an explosive start to their campaign, having scored eight goals in two matches, Sadd will need to hit the ground running if they are to challenge for the title. But Ammota was confident that his young brigade would be up for the challenge. “I see many new young players coming through our ranks. The problem we have had in recent times is that we are a team going through transition. I feel positive about this season though because we have a lot of good youngsters such as Abdul Kareem Hassan and Hassan Haidos and many more.”
Kharaitiyat were held to a draw by newly-promoted side Al Shamal in their opening game but coach Bertrand Marchand is looking to take advantage of the lack of readiness of the Sadd team. “We know that Sadd is one of the best teams in the league with great potential; but they may be fatigued because of their Asian Champions League game against Hilal. We therefore have a chance and we will try to exploit it. We played well enough in our first game against Shamal so hopefully we can once again be strong collectively and triumph of a worthy opponent,” he said.
Kharaitiyat player Khalid Nouradeem added, “Unfortunately we drew in the first round, we will try to play for the victory, but we have never beaten Al Sadd so this will be a tough task regardless if Al Sadd played Al Hilal recently.”
Though Marchand knows that the weather will play a part in the proceedings, he wants his players to keep more possession of the ball and try and put pressure on Sadd. “The climate will certainly affect the players, however we must remember how good Al Sadd is. We played against Shamal in a collective manner and we will try to continue in the same vein. Hopefully we can have more possession than in our last game. We have to work as a group and get that winning mentality this season,” he said.
