DOHA AL SADD coach Hussein Ammota believes his team is still some way away from winning the Qatar Stars League crown.
On the eve of the tough match against Al Rayyan, he said he was confident that his team would bounce back through the Clasico and complete a double against the rivals.
There are five matches still to go before the league ends. Al Sadd top the table, while Rayyan are occupying the fourth place.
Ammota has insisted his players can hit back hard after 0-1 defeat against El Jaish at their home and replicate their 4-1 win in the reverse fixture in November 2012.
The former Asian Champions currently lie five points clear of the second- placed Lekhwiya and are as many as 11 points ahead of the fierce rivals Al Rayyan.
In a pre-match press conference on Monday, Ammota said, “We don’t have to introduce this game because everyone knows it’s the Clasico of the Qatari league. With the players we have, I think we can do a good job.
“All the journalists tell me Al Sadd have won the league. This is not true because there are many points to play for. We lost against El Jaish but we were lucky because Lekhwiya drew.
“We are only leading by five points. We should be motivated by this difference because we have to win the game to feel more comfortable in the league. Of course, the result gave us a bad atmosphere but with the difference in points, we are motivated.” Speaking on the significance of the match and quality of the opposition, he said: “The position of both teams doesn’t give any hint as to who will win this game. We lost three points in the last game and they were important points. Now Al Rayyan is strong but Al Sadd always plays well against the strong teams,” Ammota said.
“I’m not afraid of the opponent but the attitude of my players concerns me. Al Rayyan has good players, especially like Neymar, Tabata and Gomo. Lately they have not had good results but they are a good team who always play well,” he added.
Diego Aguirre, coach of Al Rayyan underlined the significance of the match and said his players are ready to go. “This will be a great game. We all love to be involved in these sort of games. Last season all the games were good. Even if we won or lost, it was a good game.
“Both sides will be motivated for this game. There will be no problem for that. We will respect Al Sadd but we have nothing to fear.” Having scored seven goals past Sailiya last week, Aguirre’s boys cannot ask for a better motivation than that. “There is no more pressure on my players because of our result against Al Sailiya. It is not important if you win or lose before facing Al Sadd. It is a special game so we must play very well. Everyone wants to be involved in these games.” “We have a team with good quality and we believe we can win. It is good for us to see these players put in a good performance. No matter whom they are, this game gives every player motivation to do well,” Aguirre added.
In 22 QSL matches since 2004, Al Sadd have won 10 and Rayyan won seven, while five games have been drawn. Al Sadd have been in prolific form, netting 42 goals against Rayyan’s 31.
In the curent season, Brazilian Nilmar, who scored a spectacular hat-trick last week, will hope to add to his 11 league goals. Al Sadd will rely on the diminutive striker Khalfan Ibrahim, who has netted ten goals.
On the eve of the tough match against Al Rayyan, he said he was confident that his team would bounce back through the Clasico and complete a double against the rivals.
There are five matches still to go before the league ends. Al Sadd top the table, while Rayyan are occupying the fourth place.
Ammota has insisted his players can hit back hard after 0-1 defeat against El Jaish at their home and replicate their 4-1 win in the reverse fixture in November 2012.
The former Asian Champions currently lie five points clear of the second- placed Lekhwiya and are as many as 11 points ahead of the fierce rivals Al Rayyan.
In a pre-match press conference on Monday, Ammota said, “We don’t have to introduce this game because everyone knows it’s the Clasico of the Qatari league. With the players we have, I think we can do a good job.
“All the journalists tell me Al Sadd have won the league. This is not true because there are many points to play for. We lost against El Jaish but we were lucky because Lekhwiya drew.
“We are only leading by five points. We should be motivated by this difference because we have to win the game to feel more comfortable in the league. Of course, the result gave us a bad atmosphere but with the difference in points, we are motivated.” Speaking on the significance of the match and quality of the opposition, he said: “The position of both teams doesn’t give any hint as to who will win this game. We lost three points in the last game and they were important points. Now Al Rayyan is strong but Al Sadd always plays well against the strong teams,” Ammota said.
“I’m not afraid of the opponent but the attitude of my players concerns me. Al Rayyan has good players, especially like Neymar, Tabata and Gomo. Lately they have not had good results but they are a good team who always play well,” he added.
Diego Aguirre, coach of Al Rayyan underlined the significance of the match and said his players are ready to go. “This will be a great game. We all love to be involved in these sort of games. Last season all the games were good. Even if we won or lost, it was a good game.
“Both sides will be motivated for this game. There will be no problem for that. We will respect Al Sadd but we have nothing to fear.” Having scored seven goals past Sailiya last week, Aguirre’s boys cannot ask for a better motivation than that. “There is no more pressure on my players because of our result against Al Sailiya. It is not important if you win or lose before facing Al Sadd. It is a special game so we must play very well. Everyone wants to be involved in these games.” “We have a team with good quality and we believe we can win. It is good for us to see these players put in a good performance. No matter whom they are, this game gives every player motivation to do well,” Aguirre added.
In 22 QSL matches since 2004, Al Sadd have won 10 and Rayyan won seven, while five games have been drawn. Al Sadd have been in prolific form, netting 42 goals against Rayyan’s 31.
In the curent season, Brazilian Nilmar, who scored a spectacular hat-trick last week, will hope to add to his 11 league goals. Al Sadd will rely on the diminutive striker Khalfan Ibrahim, who has netted ten goals.
