Ferreira: I got my first win over El-Jaish, focus is now on the Cups

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira referred to his side’s 2-1 victory over El-Jaish as an “excellent win”. The result in the Round 26 match meant that Al-Sadd ended the 2016-17 QSL season with 61 points.

Speaking to the media after the match, Ferreira said: “The league ended today. Unfortunately, this was not the position that we wanted. We played against a team that has ended its footballing journey today. I personally had never won against El-Jaish before during my time with Al-Sadd. The El-Jaish players were really down because of the decision to merge (with Lekhwiya), especially as they were a big team and it is unfortunate that their journey has ended.”

The gaffer went on: “The match had two periods. Even with the sending off, we were dominating the match completely. To play with 10 players was difficult for us. But in the end, we deserved the result. We also succeeded in defending well in the second half. We were not affected much by El-Jaish’s goal. I congratulate the Al-Sadd players. And now, our thinking shifts to the two Cup tournaments.”

Asked about the red card shown to Al-Sadd keeper Saad Al-Dosari, Ferreira said: “I am really sad to miss Saad against Al-Rayyan after he was sent off during the match. I also had to remove Morteza Pouraliganji because he picked up a yellow card during the match.”

Ferreira concluded by saying: “Lekwhiya drew with Al-Shahaniya. If we had won against Al-Sailiya in the earlier round, things would have been different at the top. But we now need to focus on giving our best in the Cup tournaments.”