Al Rayyan coach Nicholas Cordova spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 22 (final round) match against Al Gharafa.

“It is a match at the end of a very difficult season for Al Rayyan, during which many things happened that affected the team. We will try to prepare well, analyze the opponents, and make the best efforts to win. The team is in good condition and the performance in the past matches was good, and we were not lucky.

“This season, we lost many points due to bad luck, such as the last match in which we played with 10 players. We got a penalty kick and we did not score, and we lost the match. The previous scenarios were not in favour of us despite the good preparation of players.

“The team's situation has changed from the past weeks, but every time we needed to win to get out of this situation, and the most important thing now is to achieve victory, which is a must to stay in the league,” said Cordova.

Al Rayyan player Abdulrahman Al Harazi said, “The team's preparations to face Al Gharafa are the same as the preparations for each match, but there is pressure on the team as a result of Al Rayyan competing to stay in the league.

“This is not Al Rayyan's position in the ranking table, and as for the match, there is no alternative to winning. Our fate is in our hands, and we are presenting a good level, but we lack success, and we want to send a message to the fans, you are our first supporters. We were competing for championships and now we are battling to stay in the league. Your team and players need you. With their support, we will achieve a positive result.”