Ferreira: It’s a deserved win but we could’ve clinched it inside 20 minutes

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira called his team’s 3-2 win over Al-Arabi a “deserved” win and stressed on its importance in the Wolves’ league campaign.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ferreira said: “We got an important win. In the last five minutes, we scored the goals that we should have done in the first half. We should have clinched the match inside the first 20 minutes. We gave our all but I don’t know why the team likes to suffer in this manner.”

Asked about the team’s dip in performance during the match, Ferreira said: “It is everyone’s responsibility and not just the defence or the strikers. We managed to dominate the match completely but I’m not happy with the last few minutes when we gave away the goal to Al-Arabi who threatened to score the equalizer. This also happened against Al-Gharafa. We have to absorb the pressure that we play under, especially with the huge responsibility that comes with being Al-Sadd players.”

The boss also said: “Al-Sadd now score an average of three goals in every game. But unfortunately, there is no balance between attack and defense sometimes. We need to work on that and be balanced throughout the 90 minutes.”

As for the level shown by Khalfan Ibrahim, Ferreira pointed out that he had missed games as he was injured. “When the injured player returns, he performs but not upto 100%. Khalfan needs time and patience to get back to his normal level. We always expect a lot from him.”