Last chance for Lekhwiya to end season on a high

By Sports Reporter/DohaIt’s time for the business end of the 2014 Emir Cup today with the top four teams of this season’s Qatar Stars League seeing action for the first time by virtue of their direct placement in the quarter-finals.El Jaish will be looking to continue their winning momentum after having defeated QSL champions Lekhwiya in the penalty shootout to lift the Qatar Cup. Jaish will take on Al Gharafa who ended the run of Al Kharaitiyat in round three. Kharaitiyat had caused an upset in the second round by defeating Al Rayyan by a solitary goal. But Gharafa were able to beat the stubborn resistance of Kharaitiyat with a late goal in the 84thminute. For Lekhwiya this is another chance to add to their QSL trophy. After winning the league title, Lekhwiya has suffered a huge dip in form. They were knocked out of the AFC Champions League and then they lost to Jaish in the Qatar Cup final. A match they should have won considering the number of chances they had. Coach Eric Gerets will have to get his team to pull up their socks and get back the winning feeling. Lekhwiya will be playing against Al Ahli who defeated Qatar SC 4-3 on penalties in the previous round. “This is the last chance for our team to end the season on a high. We are looking forward to getting back to the Lekhwiya way of playing football, one that the crowd expects. Especially after the loss in the final of the Qatar Cup and the exit from the AFC Champions League,” said Gerets during the pre-match press conference. “We have been doing our preparations and our team is ready to for this quarter-final match,” added Gerets.While Jaish and Lekhwiya are both out of the AFC Champions League, the only Qatar club that managed to progress is Al Sadd. And they will take on Al Arabi today. Arabi had defeated Al Wakrah 4-2 on penalties in the third round. For Sadd it is important to keep their squad fresh for the AFC Champions League match next week and that will be their biggest challenge. “I am concerned about the fatigue factor for the players considering that we are also playing in the Asian Champions League. So you will understand my decision to not involve all the players in the Emir Cup match,” said Sadd coach Hossein Ammouta during the pre-match press conference. “The exit of Lekhwiya, El Jaish and Al Rayyan from the AFC Champions League is a huge disappointment for Qatar. And therefore it is very important that we, as the only representative from Qatar, do everything we can to progress further in that competition,” he added. In the remaining encounter, Al Sailiya, the team that finished fourth in the QSL this season, will take on Al Khor. Khor have enjoyed a good run in this Emir Cup. They thumped newly-promoted side Al Shamal 5-1 in the second round. In the third round, they defeated Umm Salal by a solitary goal. Khor will be keen to extend their run in the Emir Cup and, with two wins under their belt, they could prove to be a tough opposition for Sailiya.The current league champions, former league champions, the Qatar Cup winners – it’s quite a few big names in action today. Expect a lot of fireworks.