Ferreira: We deserved to win, we will need luck at Khalifa Stadium

Al-Sadd head coach Jesualdo Ferreira spoke of his happiness after his side’s 2-0 win over El-Jaish in the Emir Cup semifinal played on Sunday.

Speaking to the media after the match, Ferreira said: “This the third match between the two teams in the past couple of weeks and so it wsa not a beautiful match. The first half was not good for both sides. We did not play in our usual manner. I think El-Jaish were better in the first half while in the second half, Al-Sadd improved a lot. We were faster and we created chances, which we couldn’t do in the first half.”

He added: “I congratulate my team for this win, for our display in the second half against one ofthe strongest teams in Qatar. They have excellent players and it was a difficult match from start to finish.”

Al-Sadd are now in the Emir Cup final once again, for the sixth straight season. Asked about his feeling at this occasion, Ferreira said: “I am very happy to be in the Emir Cup final. This is my second final in this tournament and I’ve been here for a year and a half. Also, I won’t hide my happiness in winning the Qatar Cup. As everyone knows, this is our sixth straight Emir Cup final. It is going to be an excellent game. We know how strong Al-Rayyan can be. We hope luck will be with us.”

“We really need luck. We are going to be playing in Khalifa Stadium’s reopening launch. We are looking to double our happiness after the Qatar Cup win,” added the Portuguese coach.

Ferreira also had a few words for El-Jaish, who played their last game before their merger (with Lekhwiya).

While admitting that he didn’t know the story of their beginnings in the league, Ferreira said: “The league is going to lose a really good technical side. All their matches were competitive and hard-fought. The Qatari football authorities are the ones who know why the merger took place and they have the best interests of Qatari football at heart. We are going to miss two other teams next season and the league is going to have lesser teams and lesser matches, which will make it more competitive.”