Al Ahli VS Qatar SC, December 20, 18:30 at the Grand Hamad stadium

Al Ahli assistant coach Khalid Taj
“Normally it’s Coach Machala who will be here but we changed the programme because he is conducting the training right now. I think it's a big match between two teams who play with an open style. The gap is just one point. So we will see a very nice and competitive game, a free flowing one hopefully. The game will be played mainly in the midfield. It will also be a game between two top scorers in the QSL right now - Dioko and Harboui.”

“Our last results haven't been stable enough for us to reach a good place in the rankings but we still have the confidence that we can win against Qatar SC and take three points. We are a kind of team that creates 6-7 chances in each half. But against Shahania we created maybe just 2-3 chances in the entire game. Coach Machala said the same in his analysis after that game - we have to create more. We have to score early in this game. That's been our strategy but we have failed to do that in the previous two games.”

“During the break it is a big challenge for clubs to get the best local players. We have good international players but we need some specific players - especially on the left flank. We have seen that the second half of QSL is different from the first. In the first half, teams are sizing up the opposition. In the second round, teams will pick the right local players and that's when the League gets more competitive I believe.”


 
Qatar SC Coach Radhi Shenaishil
“We haven't had good results in our previous three games. From nine points we took just two. We are still in a good place in the rankings but it's not enough. The game against Al Ahli will be difficult. But before the break we need to take a good result. It’s important to get back to winning. We made some individual mistakes which gave our opponents opportunities to score in the previous matches.”
 
Iraqi national team temporary coach for the 2015 Asian Cup:
“I understand that this can affect any team but in the current circumstance it won't affect Qatar SC. After this match we are going into a long break. The players will have their time off.”
 
“When they come back, the focus will be on the physical aspect of their games. And for that we have our physical conditioning coach who will be monitoring things. I will be back before the start of the league. I know that if this move would have affected my team even 20 per cent then I wouldn't have taken up the offer.”
 
“I want to thank the administration of Qatar SC for giving me this opportunity to go with the Iraq national team. Just to reiterate, I am the head coach of Qatar SC but I have a staff and they can work in my absence. We are a very well-organised unit and we are prepared.”