Al Sadd may have topped the QNB Stars League (QSL) points table at the halfway stage but coach Jesualdo Ferreira seeks more improvement from his players.
Lucas Mendes, Salem Al Hajri and Baghdad Bounedjah scored a goal each to give the Wolves a crucial 3-1 win over defending champions Al Duhail in a crucial tie at Al Sadd Stadium on Tuesday.
The victory in the rescheduled game took Al Sadd to the top of QSL standings with a tally to 38 points with Al Duhail (36 points) slipping to second position for the first time in the season.
After defeats to Iran’s Presepolis in the AFC Champions League semi-final and Al Ahli in the QSL, Al Sadd have shown tremendous improvement winning 7 matches in a row to reach the QSL summit.
But for Ferreira, the job is far from being finished and his players will have to do better if they want to lay hands on the coveted Falcon Shield.
“Despite this win (against Al Duhail), I am not satisfied with the players’ performance because they could have given a better showing. I think the players’ performance needs to improve in the next period if we want to win the league,” Ferreira said.
The Portuguese coach, however, gave full credit to Al Sadd players for their overall performance in the first half of the season.
“This win was the seventh in a row for us and I want to congratulate the players for these results. The biggest winners are the players themselves. They put in a lot of hard work, since August 2,” said Ferreira.
“For us, the first phase of the league is over now. It is difficult to predict who will win the league,” he added.
A total of nine Al Sadd players will be on the national duty for next month’s Asian Cup in the UAE, and Ferreira said his team faces a tough challenge sans these stars.
“There is a two-month break and we will suffer more than Al Duhail due to the absence of the international players. I don’t know what we will do without these players,” he said.
These nine players include Saad Al Dosari, Tarek Salman, Abdelkarim Hassan, Pedro Miguel, Khoukhi Boualem, Salem Al Hajri, Hamid Ismail, Hassan Al Haydos and Akram Afif.
Meanwhile, star Afif said Al Sadd were a better side against Al Duhail in the important match.
“I am pleased with the win. The game was a difficult one but despite that Al Sadd managed to improve and clinch the win in the end,” he said before adding that the title-race is still open.
“The second phase match against Al Duhail is the game that will decide the title,” he said.
“We hope fortune will favour us in the upcoming phase as we strive to keep winning until we achieve our goal of lifting the league title.”
