Al Sailiya’s Fouzi Ayish celebrates scoring his hat-trick goal against Qatar Sports Club yesterday.
By Sports Reporter/Doha
Four-times champions Lekhwiya will be aiming to climb up the standings when they take on Al Sadd in the Qatar Stars League today.
Djamel Belmadi’s men finally registered their first win after a barren run of defeats when they defeated Al Khor 3-0 last week, but with the tournament barely two months old they are languishing in seventh place with just 13 points from nine matches.
Coach Belmadi’s concerns are, therefore, legitimate. “We are going to play against a big club, one of the best clubs in Qatar. They won the Asian Champions League a few years ago. Everybody knows the quality they have. It’s always a strong game when we play against Sadd. It’s like a derby for us. We want to win. We want to face the best teams in the league and we like these kind of games,” said Belmadi at his pre-match press conference.
“For both teams, the standings are not important. It’s about two big clubs that are going to face each other.”
Belmadi said his players are not short on motivation. “The motivation is there for every game. We take all our games seriously. Confidence to be honest is not something that we lose. I am not happy when we don’t take points. For a few weeks now my squad is more or less complete, except one player. We didn’t have that from the beginning of the season and that is something critical for us.
“The last five years we have won four times. The standings are important. But right now we are not focusing on that. The focus is on the performance and what we can improve upon. We will focus on the games and then we will see what happens. For a team that has won the title in the last four years, we can’t say that top 4 is our target.”
Al Sadd assistant coach Hisham Zahid said his team can’t wait to get on the field to take on Lekhwiya.
“The game will be very difficult because we are playing a strong team like Lekhwiya. We are waiting for a big opponent and now Lekhwiya and Sadd are looking for a good position in the table. I hope that the game is one which the supporters enjoy.”
Zahid refused to confirm or deny rumours that head coach Hussein Ammotta will be leading out Al Sadd for the last time. Unoffical reports say the team have roped in Jesualdo Ferreira of Portugal as their new coach.
“I think that in Al Sadd the players are extremely professional. They know how to deal with this kind of situation. They are responsible players and will give their maximum with Ammota or any another coach.
Another drubbing for Qatar SC
By Sports Reporter, Doha: Qatar Sports Club’s woes in the Qatar Stars League continued after they crashed to their second drubbing inside a week yesterday.
Close on the heels of their 9-0 record defeat to Al Rayyan last week, QSC were handed a 5-0 hammering by Al Sailiya yesterday, with Fouzi Ayish bagging a hat-trick and Abdulqadir Ilyas completing a brace.
Qatar Sports Club, who finished in the top four last season, now languish in 13th spot with just one win from 10 games, while Al Sailiya are relatively better off in 10th place with 10 points.
Meanwhile, Umm Salal continued their affinity for late drama when they earned another draw with a 93rd minute goal against Al Wakrah.
Yannick Sagbo denied Wakrah the three point points as he pounced in the box to score in the 93rd minute after Sebastian Saez converted from the spot in the 79th minute to put Al Wakrah ahead.
In their previous match against Al Ahli, Salal escaped with a draw when Sagbo again came good and converted a penalty in the 88th minute. Tonight’s clash was a busy affair in the first half, with both teams trying to establish their supremacy but neither succeeded. Umm Salal enjoyed more possession in dangerous areas and had a couple of attempts but they couldn’t make it count.
The second half started in the same way with neither team able to dominate possession. Salal again created chances, with Ismael Mahmoud getting one on the 63rd minute but it was well blocked by Wakrah keeper Enyas.
But the tone of the match changed in the 75th minute when Salal defender Silva conceded a penalty. The reply however showed it to be a most questionable decision.
Wakrah’s striker Saez stepped up and had his shot blocked but the referee whistle for the retake as Jawad Ahnash move to early into the penalty box. The Argentine stepped up again and converted the chance to give his team the lead and get his seventh of the season.
Wakrah looked to be closing out the game but a hopeful cross from the left courtesy of Silva in time added on, denied the men in Blue a vital three points as Sagbo’ s tapped in the equaliser from close range.
