DOHA: Former Qatar Stars League (QSL) champions Al Gharafa will not take ‘unpredictable’ Al Sailiyah lightly today when the two sides clash in a round five game at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium.
At a pre-match press conference Al Gharafa coach Marcos Paqueta said: “Al Sailiya shouldn’t be underestimated. Last season they finished in the top four. They have had a mixed start and so they are unpredictable.”
Paqueta added: “From this round onwards things will start to get more difficult because teams are starting to know each other and are better prepared.”
About his opponents, the Brazilian said: “This is a very important match for us, we have to take all three points from Al Sailiya to ensure that we continue to build on our good start and stay with the top teams.”
Al Gharafa star signing Miku said his main target in the new season is to present an improved game all-round.
“I think I am improving game by game. I didn’t play in the beginning because I had a red card from last season,” Miku said
“I did well last season as I played 10 and scored 10 but the new QFA rule means that all of the foreign stars will play less games this season and this obviously effects how many goals we can score,” he added.
Al Sailiyah coach Sami Trabelsi said their opponents Al Gharafa are ‘a much improved side’ from last season.
“This hasn’t been the start I was expecting,” Trabelsi said.
“The game on Thursday will be tough and Al Gharafa have shown a better side to their game this season. Paqueta has organized them well, they don’t score much but they do have a good attack and they will improve their scoring tally soon I am sure,” he added.
“They are a team who knows how to win and could be one of the better teams this season. We have tried to correct some mistakes that we saw in the last game and we are working on focusing the players’ minds. We do not have any injuries so we will give it our all,” the Tunisian added.
In another game today, Qatar SC take on Al Khor knowing an improved show would delight the fans.
Qatar SC head coach Radhi Shenaishil believes that the victory against Al Shahania his given his side the necessary confidence boost that he was looking for but he also understood that there was plenty of room for improvement.
“We have only six points and we had a terrible start to the season so I think that we still have a lot of work to do,” Shenaishil said.
“We have no injuries and we are working towards the next game, I have only been here a short time but the atmosphere in the group has changed, things are on the way up,” he added.
When asked about his opponents Shenaishil said: “This will be a difficult game because Al Khor is coming from bad results and will have strong motivation to win their first game of the new season.”
Qatar SC has no injuries and currently lies in 8th place.
From Al Khor perspective, the upcoming match will be tricky as Qatar SC‘s confidence has improved and it might be difficult for Lazlo Boloni to motivate his team whose spirits are low after a terrible start to the new season
Their form is currently 3 losses and a draw and they sit bottom of the table after four rounds this season.
“We have had time to sit and review our problems and I have told the players that they must give their maximum on the field,” Boloni said yesterday. “Of course you must prepare the game but sometime we don’t concentrate for the full 90 minutes,” Boloni added.
“The whole team must improve. The problem doesn’t lie with just one player. We don’t have a big bench and so if we get one or two injuries this can affect the team’s performance,” he pointed out.
The Peninsula
