Ferreira: Deserved win, happy with the strong showing in the second half

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira expressed his happiness with his side after the 4-1 win over Umm Salal in the QNB Stars League Round 8 game played on Sunday.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ferreira said: Just as I predicted yesterday, the match was very difficult. Umm Salal are a physically strong side and show great attacking fervour. I didn’t like our performance in the first 20 minutes but after that, there was a great improvement. The first half result was fair considering the performance of the two teams.”

He went on to add: “In the second half, we did good work that we failed to do in the first half. We controlled the possession completely and after the second goal, we were able to dominate further and score the third and fourth goals.”

The Al-Sadd manager also said: “We got a deserved win. The number of goals doesn’t matter. What is important is the three points. I am happy that we scored four goals as it hasn’t happened before. I am happier by the fact that an 18-year old player – Ahmed Sohail – took part in this match and gave a great performance on his debut.”

Ferreira also pointed out that his players are fatigued after their international commitments. “We should know that there are exhausted players who are not physically fit after playing for the national teams recently. I hope the team is at full strength after the end of the next break and before the beginning of the second phase.”

As for the upcoming match against Al-Duhail, he said: “The Al-Duhail match is very important for us because of the competition for the top. We have only a few days for recovery. (But) the players are spirited ahead of this match.”

Ferreira went on to conclude the presser by saying: “I want to thank the players for their performance in this game and also the result.”