By Sports Reporter/Doha



Leaders Al Rayyan have regrouped and reworked at their game after their unexpected loss to Al Sadd, coach Jorge Fossati said ahead of Monday’s clash against Al Ahli.
Al Sadd handed Rayyan their first loss of the season on Thursday when the hosts produced a 1-0 win at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
“We have looked into our mistakes, worked on them and now we are preparing ourselves for the next game,” Fossati said on Sunday.
“We have a very tough game. We are working from the moment we finished the last game to recover the players and get them to be in the best condition tomorrow. We have high confidence in our team,” Fossati added.
Fossati he differs from people who think every game has to be judged on results only. “For us the defeat hasn’t changed in the way we prepare. The feeling cannot be same. We cannot be happy when we don’t win,” Fossati said.
“People analyse the games only by the results. But that is something that we never do. We have to analyse the performance too,” he added.
Despite a tally of 33 points from 12 games, Al Rayyan still won’t take Al Ahli lightly, Fossati said. “It’s true that Al Ahli haven’t had good results so far in the league but we know their players have good quality. And they have had very good games,” Fossati said.
“Sometimes the final result don’t mirror the game. We believe that there were games which Al Ahli deserved to win. So we respect them as a team while having confidence in our players,” he said.
Al Ahli coach Zlatko Kranjcar said playing creative football could be the way forward for his side place 9th on the points table.
“We did not achieve what has been expected of us so far. However, the big games are the best way to reply and change that,” Kranjcar said on Sunday.
“This match is between two teams who have a big tradition here. We are expecting a good game. Our team is in a bit of difficult situation right now. I am sure that my players will respond positively and get a good result.
“Al Rayyan is at the top of the table and they have had a great season so far. But there’s always a possibility to surprise them and we will look to do that,” Kranjcar said.
Kranjcar said Al Rayyan’s unexpected loss last week is not a new occurrence in professional sport. “It is not surprising that Al Rayyan lost a game. Every good run comes to an end someday,” Kranjcar said.
“However, they are still very competitive. They have been preparing every game to win and am sure will do the same this time too,” he added.
“We will approach the game in the same way. Big games usually bring something different but I am sure our players will do their best to get a positive result.
“Injuries and lack of scoring from clear chances are the two big issues that are affecting us. We show a lot of quality during the game and create many chances but we don’t score off them,” he said.


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