Hassan Al-Haydos: The late goal is a reflection of our desire to win

Al-Sadd forward Hassan Al-Haydos stressed that his team’s dramatic late winner against Persepolis in the AFC Champions League was a reflection of the players’ determination.

Speaking after the match, Al-Haydos said: “We managed to get a crucial win today, despite the huge difficulties that we faced. The goal came at the death and this is a reflection of our desire and determination to win, especially as we did not play well enough in the first game against Al-Ahli. And so, we needed to defeat Persepolis to keep our chances alive from the start, and Alhamdulillah we achieved that.”

He added: “We know that the Asian campaign will be difficult. We need to be fully prepared for that. We hope we can turn this win into a psychological boost ahead of the next game, as we look to keep our chances of qualification alive in this tough group.”