Al Sadd’s players celebrate after scoring against Al Kharaitiyat during their opening match of the QNB Stars League played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Sunday.
Doha: Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira lauded his team’s crushing victory in their opening game against Al Kharaitiyat, warning QNB Stars League (QSL) rivals of more fighting performances from his side in the coming rounds.
Striker Baghdad Bounedjah fired a hat-trick while Akram Afif scored a brace as The Wolves thrashed Al Kharaitiyat 6-0 in their opening QSL game at Khalifa International Stadium on Sunday.
“Our positive start to the QSL is a result of our intensive build up for the new season,” Ferreira said after the match.
“This win is a message for our rivals that we are ready for the League. We are looking forward to continue this form throughout the competition,” he added.
The Wolves scored all their goals in the second half and Ferreira said the winning margin could have been more.
“We could have scored goals in the first half too. But I am happy with the fighting spirit and overall team’s performance,” he said.
Al Sadd will take on Al Arabi in their next game on August 12 and Ferreira was expecting a similar performance from his side in their second match.
“We will have to give our best in all the matches as consistency is very important in this tough competition. We are now focusing on our second match against Al Arabi,” he said.
Title-contenders Al Rayyan also got off to a winning start when they overcame Al Ahli 2-0, with both the goals coming in the first half on Sunday. Al Rayyan could have added to Sebastian Soria and Gonzalo Viera strikes but they missed several chances in the second session.
“I am not worried about missed opportunities. I would have worried if we were not creating chances,” new Al Rayyan coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena after his official match.
“This victory is very important for us as it is always good to win an opening game of a contest. It’s our second victory inside five days after the Shekih Jassim Cup final win.”
The Argentinean, however, said Al Rayyan need to work on number of aspects to bring improvement in the title-hunt.
“We played the first half (against Al Ahli) very well and created a lot of chances with a dominating display. But our performance declined in the second half and we will be working hard on that aspect in our training sessions,” said Arruabarrena.
Al Rayyan will take on Umm Salal in their second game on August 10.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli coach Milan Macala said mistakes cost his team defeat in their first QSL match against Al Rayyan.
“We made mistakes in the first half. Our performance improved in the second half but that was not enough,” he said before adding that team needs to show improvement in their next match against Qatar SC on August 10.
“Qatar SC defeated Al Gharafa in their first match and they will be very confident. We will have no room for mistakes against them,” he said.
