Ferreira: Happy with the win, the temperature affected the second half performance

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira expressed his delight following his side’s big 4-1 win over Al-Kharaitiyat in the Emir’s Cup quarterfinal played on Friday evening.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ferreira said: “There were two different halves. The first half was excellent and we scored four goals while the second half was goalless. Of course, 4-1 is a big result. Al-Sadd players thought the game was over in the first half itself while the Kharaitiyat players tried to reduce the deficit. The temperature also had a big effect on the performance of the players in the second half. I thank the referees for stopping play so that the players could drink water. We now wait for Saturday to see who we will play (El-Jaish or Umm Salal) in the semifinal.”

As for the dip in performance in the second half, Ferreira said: “When the scores is 4-1, it is difficult for the other team to come back, especially with the Al-Sadd players showing lots of responsibility and professionalism. I think we won the match in the first half. It is difficult to play 90 minutes in these hot conditions. This is why we didn’t play well in the second half, which was not beautiful or entertaining for the fans.”

“Our goal was to win and reach the semifinal. We acheived this and we are happy with this big win. We are also happy with winning the Qatar Cup. Of course, when you win a tournament, there will be more pressure than earlier. We have a big responsibility to win titles. Winning the Qatar Cup gave us a real mental boost and this showed in the first half with the great performance,” said Ferreira.

He went on to conclude by saying: “Saturday’s match will determine who will face us in the semifinal. We drew with Umm Salal in the league because of the errors we committed. We also missed a penalty so we are responsible for the draw.”