The Peninsula
Al Gharafa have a dismal run of form of late but their coach Slavisa Jokanovic is hopeful his team can achieve this season’s target - a berth at the AFC Champions League (ACL).
As they host Al Wakrah today in their Round 17 clash, the Cheetahs will have little margin of error with Al Sailiya keeping close pursuit of their 4th position at the QNB Stars League (QSL).
Al Gharafa, with 25 points are just two points ahead of Al Sailiya, who will play points leaders Al Duhail on Saturday, and any untoward results can cost Jokanovic’s side dearly as season approaches the end.
The Cheetahs last month suffered early exits from Amir Cup and Ooredoo Cup after shock defeats, before being held by Al Ahli 1-1 in their last week’s QSL tie. But Jokanovic is not worried about the recent results, saying the main concern for him is to see a loss of confidence in his ranks.
“It is normal for any team to have a decline in performance, but what worried me was the loss of confidence by the players, as happened in the last game. We should work on that besides improving the technical level,” Jokanovic said at a pre-match press conference yesterday. He said Al Gharafa remained on track for a top-four finish but insisted that his team will have to regain form.
“We want to put up an improved performance against Al Wakrah and we are on top of our readiness. We will fight to achieve our target of playing in next season’s AFC Champions League. We are staying highly focused, so we should be able to fulfill our ambition,” said Al Gharafa coach.
Al Wakrah, who played out a 3-3 against Al Gharafa in the first leg, are placed seventh in the points standings with 19 points. Their coach Marquez Lopez was confident ahead of the match, terming it a crucial clash.
“I have told my players about the importance of the match with Al Gharafa and that it is worth a lot of points. If we win it, we will move closer to the top four. If we lose, the situation will be very difficult,” said Lopez.
“Al Gharafa were very good at the beginning of the season, but their performance declined. Yet, they are a large club with good players and have signed a good striker.
"Al Wakrah are no better than Al Gharafa as we have suffered back-to-back defeats. We must compensate for the losses,” said Marquez.
“All our players, except injured Osman Coulibaly, are ready for the game. I was sad and angry that we lost to Umm Salal last week as it was a crucial game for us. Had we won, we would have got closer to the top four.”
Meanwhile, Umm Salal and Al Shahania will clash in today’s other match, which will also be played at Al Gharafa Stadium.
Al Duhail are on top of the standings with 39 points followed by Al Rayyan (35 points) and defending champions Al Sadd (32 points).