DOHA: With plenty at stake Qatar Stars League (QSL) giants Al Sadd and Lekhwiya will resume their rivalry for the second time in seven days when the two sides meet in the Emir Cup semi-finals at Al Sadd Stadium today.
Just one week ago, Lekhwiya edged QSL champions Al Sadd 3-2 to lift the Heir Apparent Cup trophy.
After going behind in the match, first-half goals from Ismael Mohammed, Adel Lami and Youssef Al Msakni gave Lekhwiya a deserved victory, who went behind after a Younes Mahmoud penalty.
Lekhwiya coach Eric Gerets, who saw his side defeat Al Gharafa 4-2 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, said the newly-crowned Heir Apparent Cup winners will have to play another strong game if they want to beat the QSL champions.
Al Sadd coach Hussein Amute, who guided the QSL champions to a 1-0 victory over Umm Salal in the previous stage, said there is no room for mistakes and will be looking for his attackers, which consists the likes of Raul, Ibrahim Khalfan and Younes Mahmoud to give their best.
Al Sadd, who trained on Thursday and yesterday, will be aiming to reach their second consecutive final after missing out on the prestigious trophy after a penalty shoot-out defeat against Al Gharafa last season.
The match will be officiated by Italian referee Andrea De Marco, who has taken charge of some of the biggest club matches in Italy.
De Marco was also an official in the Under-17 European Football Championships in 2007 in Belgium.
Elsewhere in the other semi-final today, Al Rayyan coach Diego Aguirre said the match against Eljaish will not be easy and praised their opponents as ‘one of the best teams this season’.
Aguirre said: “We find ourselves in front of one of the best teams in Qatar this season - Eljaish. I personally prefer playing against strong teams.”
He added: “Eljaish are a great team and showed good levels throughout the season, which makes it a very difficult meeting for us.”
The Uruguayan, whose side crushed Al Khor 4-1 in the quarter-finals, said his team will do their best to win but admitted the preparations for the match was a concern.
He said: “The interval between the games is too short and when this happens there is a lot to work on with players receiving medical treatment so that they are properly equipped.”
Razvan Lucescu, Eljaish coach believes with plenty to play for, both teams will be on top of their game, but is confident his players can put on a good performance.
He said: “The team has the confidence and we are in a good period to achieve the good results. We are satisfied with what we have achieved and we will try to be in focus during the match.”
Eljaish, who defeated Qatar SC 1-0 in the quarter-finals, will be without Brazilian striker Adriano, but can count on Wagner Ribeiro, who will be leading the attack.
Speaking of Adriano’s absence, Ribeiro said: “I have no problems to play with any other player on the pitch, and the team is definitely losing a lot in the absence of Adriano. I feel his absence, and I hope he will return full strength. But we have players of very high quality at the club.”
In preparations for the match. Eljaish trained at Aspire ahead of the semi-final match.
THE PENINSULA
