Doha, 2 May 2023 - Coaches of Al Rayyan and Al Wakrah spoke to the media ahead of their 2022-2023 season QNB Stars League Week 21 match.
Al Rayyan coach Nicholas Cordova said, "In the last match against Al Sadd, we performed well, and we were not lucky enough to take advantage of the chances. Had we scored, we would have got the points the team deserved.
"Osama Al Tairi will be absent due to injury. The rest of the players are ready, except for some minor injury worries.
"The match between Al Wakrah and Al Arabi was strong, and Al Arabi were the closest to winning, but Al Wakrah succeeded in excelling through counterattacks, especially in the rapid transition from defense to attack. And they achieved victory in the match. Al Wakrah were in a good position this season because they are a strong team and is noted for counter-attacks," said Cordova.
Al Wakrah coach Marquez Lopez said, "This focus will help us a lot in overcoming the difficult obstacle of Al Rayyan, especially since there was not enough time to prepare for this confrontation, unlike what happened to us before the last Al Arabi match. This week, the matter was limited to recovery, then we had only one training session to prepare for this match.
"Of course, the match is very important for both sides, as we want to stick to the top four and Al Rayyan seek to escape relegation, therefore each team has no alternative but to collect the three points, which confirms that we will have a strong match right throughout.
"Al Rayyan are in a difficult situation now and last week they lost to Al Sadd. The situation in my team is very good because of the recent victory, because the victories help improve the atmosphere within the team, therefore the preparation for the upcoming matches is much better, but this does not prevent us from pointing out that every match is different and needs intense focus," said Marquez.
