The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar - Al Ahli will be looking to storm into the top four of the QNB Stars League (QSL) standings when they take on Al Shahania in the opening fixture of the 19th round today.
Al Ahli, currently placed fifth in the standings with 29 points, one less than fourth-placed Al Rayyan, will be eager to collect full points at their home grounds. The match will kick-off at 6.05pm.
Al Ahli have recorded nine wins so far in the season. They drew two matches and lost seven.
Al Ahli coach Ruben de la Barrera yesterday said that his men are fully prepared for the task ahead.
“We’ve prepared ourselves well. There was a great deal of interaction among the players during the training sessions. They were well-trained and they are expecting a strong match.
“We have focused on our areas for improvement. I do not care about comparisons. We are going to play against a team that is fighting to survive in the league. We are confident that we will do our best,” Barrera said during a press conference.
Al Ahli will also be looking to recover from a 0-6 loss against the defending champions Al Duhail in their last outing, and will also be extra cautious when they take on Al Shahaniya, who beat the former champions Al Rayyan 3-0 in the previous round.
“I have a good impression of the Al Shahania team and I have great respect for them. It was underlined in the last round when they won against a big team that is going through a good period,” Barrera said.
“We expect a tough game, but we hope the result will be in our favour. We feel we have a great responsibility ahead of us. Winning this match will give us huge confidence ahead of the remaining matches,” he said.
“In the previous two games, we presented positive things and negative things. We could not sustain the momentum throughout the match. We are trying to rectify our mistakes and provide a better level against Al Shahania,” Barrera said.
Al Shahania are placed eighth in the QSL rankings with 20 points
Al Ahli had defeated Al Shahania 2-1 in the first leg.
Meanwhile, Al Shahania coach Jose Murcia yesterday said that his team is also looking to bag full points against their opponents today.
“It will be a tough fixture, no doubt about it. It is a foregone conclusion that the teams will fight it out for full points,” Murcia said.
“Points are most welcome especially at this stage. We will play without pressure and we look forward to playing with great optimism. We are fully aware of the fact that the three points would be great in our mission to fulfil our ambitions.
“Talking about our opponents, Al Ahli is a good team and we must show the respect they deserve. They lost to Al Duhail, while we defeated Al Rayyan in the last round. The win over Al Rayyan helped us a lot.
“It is true that we are ahead of Al Gharafa and Qatar SC in the table, but that is the result of great work we have done. However, it is not enough and we must continue to do more,” Murcia said.
Today’s second fixture will see struggling Al Kharaitiyat take on Qatar SC at the Al Khor Stadium (kick-off at 8:15pm).