QSL side Al Gharafa takes on Al Sadd on Saturday evening, in what promises to be a fascinating clash between two old QSL rivals. Gharafa head coach Pedro Caixinia gave his thoughts on the tie.

Opening up the press conference Caixinia assured his side has enjoyed a good run against Al Sadd recently. “When we face the top 4 teams we have good results and I believe that will be the same going into the match against Al Sadd. First time we played them we drew 1-1 and the second time we lost in the Emir Cup so we are in good form against Al Sadd.”

The Portuguese tactician also stressed that his side are aiming to strike first against the current QSL league leaders, and is targeting a victory to kick start their campaign.

“I’m not happy on taking a point from this game. Not the moment, we are only thinking about three points. When we played last season against the top sides they often scored first and we managed to draw so right now we are aiming to score first in this match. Sadd are one of the best teams in Qatar who are in good form right now, but they have weaknesses we will be looking to exploit going into the tie.”

Last time out Al Gharafa shared the points with Al Shahania in a 1-1 draw, conceding a late penalty. Despite this, Caixinia believes his side is close to a statement result. “We are not far from a big performance, a big performance needs to have the right result. We have defended well in the last two games, and the team performed well. It was just small details that affect an otherwise good performance, which we are working on.”

Concluding the press conference, Al Gharafa’s head coach believes his side can put in a performance against Al Sadd. “We have the feeling we will do well in this game, we need to win tomorrow in order to change the cycle of this club.”



As for Al Sadd they come into the match leading the QSL standings with ten points from four games. Head coach Jesaldo Ferriera gave his thoughts on the Saturday night match up.
Opening up the press conference Ferriera talked up his opponents. “Al Gharafa are a strong team, despite the results they have had.  They have played well, and their performances have not reciprocated the result. They have good players and are organized in defense.”

Looking back on previous match ups against the Cheetahs, Ferriera is targeted a composed performance from his team. “For this game, it’s difficult. We have played them twice we won game in the emir cup and didn’t win easily. The only way to win this match is to play without any mistakes; we need to play like we have in our previous games.”

“We scored good goals against Muaither, but we conceded goals against them also. That was down to our national team players being tired. We are working on the balance between defense and attack, and working on our defensive stability in this game.” Reflected the Portuguese coach when asked about last rounds 4-2 victoury over newly promoted Muaither.
Ferriera also noted that Al Sadd will be without midfielder Ibrahim Khalfan, who is injured for the match.

Ferriera ended his press conference on a lighter note, praising his opposite number at Al Gharafa Pedro Caixinia. “Caixinia is a good coach, who stated after me. He came from a good coaching background and is one of the graduates from the same of school of me and is an exciting coach. He is part of many good Portuguese coaches who work in Qatar at the moment, and I wish him well for this season, just not this game.”