Al Rayyan's coach Michael Laudrup
Al Rayyan coach Michael Laudrup was impressed with the fighting spirit his players exhibited in the Emir Cup semi-final against Lekhwiya on Saturday, saying his team 'deserved' to win the feisty contest.
On Saturday, Al Rayyan produced three goals in the second half to beat Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions Lekhwiya 3-1 to sail into their second successive Emir Cup final.
Star striker Rodrigo Tabata scored twice at Al Sadd Stadium where the former champions delighted their Danish coach.
"Al Rayyan deserved to qualify without a doubt," Laudrup said after the tense clash under lights.
"The way we played in the second half is proof how well we played," he added.
"We are delighted with this result, which gives us hope to end the season by winning the Emir Cup title. We couldn't qualify last year (lost in the semis) but hopefully we will compensate the fans with another (title) win," he added.
Laudrup refused the suggestion that Lekhwiya were under-strength for the semi-final.
"It is not true that Al Rayyan benefited from Lakhwia's participation with second-choice players. They have promising players on the pitch," Laudrup pointed out.
Laudrup said he wasn't looking who qualified from the second semi-final between Al Sadd and El Jaish, saying it was time to 'celebrate'.
"Do not ask about Al Rayyan's opponents in the final. Now we celebrate our victory and two days later we will prepare for the final," Laudrup said with a smile.
"We have prepared the players psychologically after the loss against Al Hilal in the Asian Champions League game (last week). Now we have to look at the final regardless of the team we will play against.
"We are happy with the spirit of the players and their desire to win whatever the circumstances," he said.
Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi said it was a tough loss to take.
"We played against a strong team. It is difficult to explain the scenario of the match," Belmadi said.
"We created many chances during the match and even after Al Rayyan scored the first goal, we came back and equalised. We tried to score a second goal but Al Rayyan's second and third goals came in the final minutes. That made it difficult (for us) to recover," the Algerian said.
When asked about the lineup that Lekhwiya began the match with, Belmadi said he stepped on to the pitch with the best possible XI.
"Choosing the lineup is a technical decision and we presented a good level in the first half. I am happy with the performance of the players who fought well," Belmadi said.
"In the second half, we made some changes but we did not have a problem in controlling the game," he said.
"In the first half, we were good and created many chances to score. In the second half, I went with the experienced players but not much happened.
"The season, in general, was good. We wanted to win the Emir Cup title or even reach the final but this did not happen," Belmadi said.
