El Jaish defender relishing derby clash with title chasing Lekhwiya

El Jaish’s imposing center back Abdurahman Abker has reassured that his side is looking to spoil Lekhwiya’s title charge when they face each other in a highly anticipated round 24 clash on Sunday evening. The Qatar international defender gave an exclusive interview with QSL online to give his thoughts on El Jaish’s season to date and their domestic cup ambitions.

Opening up the conversation, Abker assured that his side has performed well despite tough circumstances. “We have had a good season at El Jaish, especially when you consider how many injuries that we have had. We have missed big players in our side like Khalid Abdulrauf & Magid Mohammed who have been absent for a long time now. You have to credit the training staff who have kept us focused on each game during this tough time.”

“The final three games against Lekhwiya, Al Gharafa and Al Sadd will be a challenge for us and we must finish strongly we can still push for third place in the league and that will be a target now. We will not be easing up in the final games” added the defender.

Despite the tough run of games, Abker stressed that Jaish are looking to get maximum points. “We cannot lift the title that is now between Al Sadd and Lekhiwya but we can overtake Al Rayyan and go into the Qatar Cup and Emir Cup in the best possible form. We are targeting nine points from our final three games.”

Talk inevitably turned to the Sunday evening match against Lekhwiya, a game that the 26 year old defender is certainly relishing. “A match against Lekhwiya is a match we are looking forward to. They are our local rivals, who are fighting at the top of the table. Our last match we lost to them in the final ten minutes of the game, which was hard to take. Now we have an opportunity to hinter their chance to lift the title, and we must be looking for a positive result against them.”

Abker ended the interview noting that his side is targeting glory in both the Qatar and Emir Cup competitions. “Any domestic competition is important for us; we have to keep at the same level of our rivals. Last season we lifted the Qatar Cup, and again this will be our focus after the league season is finished.”