Tribune News Network
Doha
Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron said his team should be ready for a difficult clash against Al Rayyan in Week 17 clash of the 2023-2024 season Expo Stars League on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media, ahead of the match, he said, “The preparations were good after the Al Shamal match in the last round and everyone is working well and there is competition between all the players in order to participate in the game. This is a good thing and I am very pleased with the way they work in training.
“I spoke with the players and asked them to focus on the match against Al Rayyan and forget the Al Shamal game in the last round, and to learn from the mistakes that occurred in that match after we failed in many things during that match.
“We must fight to win this important match against a well-prepared team and we all know the difficulty of the opponents, and we respect them. I have great confidence in the players to correct the mistakes that occurred in the previous match and not repeat them,” said Carteron.
Al Rayyan coach Leonardo Jardim too felt that his team will have a tough game.
“The match will be difficult, given that Umm Salal are considered as one of the strong teams, so we must provide our best in this match,” said Jardim.
“We are coming from a series of consecutive victories and this is due to the outstanding performance and level of the players during the past matches. The players performed at a wonderful level and if the players continue to perform at the same level, we will get the three points,” said Jardim.
Al Rayyan player Gabriel Pereira said, “We know that every match we play will be difficult and it is like a final for us in which we want to get three points.
“The players are highly focused, especially psychologically, in order to win this match. The team is coming off a winning streak and wants to get more points.
“I give everything I have during training and matches in order to register victory with the team.”
The contest is expected to witness a large audience presence with Al Rayyan now emerging as title contenders being in third place in the standings with a big 3-0 win over Al Wakrah in the previous round.
