18 Oct 2016 – 14:21
The Peninsula
DOHA: El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi yesterday said his team is determined to turn things around in their AFC Champions League semi-final leg against UAE’s Al Ain today.
The return leg will be played at Lekhwiya Stadium and the kick-off is set for 6.15pm today.
El Jaish, one of top Qatar Stars League (QSL) sides, must win today by a two-goal margin.
A 2-0 victory will be enough to get El Jaish through to their first ever AFC Champions League final.
El Jaish lost the first leg 3-1 in Al Ain, but the crucial away goal gives the soldiers a lifeline in the game.
Domestically El Jaish come into the tie off the back of three straight wins in the QSL, including a narrow 1-0 win against Al Khor.
Coach Lamouchi, who was able to rest a host of key players for the games against Al Khor, and will be relying on the likes of Seidou Keita and first-choice ‘keeper Khalifa Ababacar to be fresh for today’s tie.
Likewise Brazilian attacker Romarinho will be expected to build on his impressive early season form, and fire El Jaish into their first ever continental final.
“The team is determined to win against Al Ain,” coach Lamouchi said yesterday.
“This team has been playing well for sometime now and we deserve to do well in the next match. We are playing on home solid. I have great confidence in my players. I think we can get the result we are looking for so that we qualify for the final,” he said.
“In every game, we analyse our performance and we looked at our show in the last match. Our focus is always on how to improve our performances. Our team has the players who have done so far,” he said.
Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic said: “Both teams can expect a tough match but we are a great side with top players.”
He added: “El Jaish have a good side too and they have a very smart coach in Sabri Lamouchi. He has a lot of experience playing with this side. But we have done well this year in the AFC Champions League.”
“We have come here to win and qualify for the final. We are just looking at the win regardless of what happened in the first leg,. Any side that commits fewer mistakes will win the game. They have skillful players and so do we. We are confident of reaching the final,” Dalic said.
After the first leg, Al Ain coach Zlatko Dalic had said he was tad ‘disappointed’ to see his side concede a goal against El Jaish.
“I’m very happy with the victory but I’m disappointed with the goal that we conceded in the second half,” said Dalic.
