Ferreira: The match against Al-Khor wasn’t easy

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira stressed on the importance of the 4-0 win over Al-Khor in the QSL Round 22 match held on Friday. He pointed out that it wasn’t easy at all, despite the match giving the opposite impression.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ferreira said: “There were strong winds during the match, throughout the two halves. We tried to depend on short passes to reach the Al-Khor goal. The goals that we scored came as part of learnt steps. We knew that Al-Khor are going through a tough phase with their league position and also that they have strong forwards. We managed to cut out their danger and get a deserved win.”

The boss went on to say: “Winning and scoring four goals are very important for us. Now we will prepare ourselves for the match against Umm Salal. I am really disappointed that Pedro won’t play against Umm Salal as he picked up his fourth yellow card. However, we’re capable of making up for his absence; we have the replacement ready to take his place. We have a lot of confidence in our readiness for the upcoming match.”

Ferreira added: “All the players are doing their work perfrectly, including the youngsters on the bench, who are lacking in experience. We have a huge desire to win the league and this is clear for all our players and staff.”

He also said: “From the start of the season, Al-Sadd have been attacking and Rayyan, Lekhwiya and El-Jaish have the same technique. My method is always to attack and this has been seen in all the teams that I’ve worked with. I am happy when I win by a lot of goals. The fans also like this. But we must not make errors in defence. It is diffiuclt for any team to win the league while its three departments are not performing at the same level. This is the secret of a champion team.”

Ferreira concluded by saying: “There is a rule in football for me which goes like this: in order to attack well, we must defend better than we attack. I always encourage the players to do that. We don’t attack with just three players but with all the different players of the team. I am satisfied with the team’s performance throughout the season and the youngsters’ ability to give their best. The players are also in good mental shape with the ability to withstand difficulties.”