Qatar- Al Rayyan eye title in Al Wakrah clash

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)

Doha: A win or a draw for runaway points leaders Al Rayyan will help them seal the Qatar Stars League (QSL) title on Saturday when they meet Al Wakrah in a Round 21 clash.

On the other hand Al Wakrah will have their mind on safety from relegation when they take on Al Rayyan on Saturday evening at Al Sadd Stadium.

Coached by veteran Jorge Fossati Al Rayyan have lost just one game in entire 2015-16 season and that loss came against Al Sadd in December when the two sides clashed at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. In between Al Rayyan - have posted 19 wins with no draws.

For a side that was relegated to the second division at the end of the 20-14-15 season this has been a remarkable journey for Fossati’s men in the last seven months. With a tally of 57 points from 20 matches Al Rayyan is currently top of the QSL heap with El Jaish seem distant second with 39 points.

Meanwhile Al Wakrah one of the team among the cluster of five teams at the bottom within three points of each other starting from Qatar Sports Club in 13th place and ending with Wakrah in 9th place. That could add more pressure on the team but Al Wakrah coach Jose Mauricio says his team is used to it. “For two years Wakrah has always been under this pressure. We have come to Wakrah to try and move away from this position” said Mauricio during the pre-match press conference.

Mauricio added that Wakrah had their fate in their own hands. “Some people thought we were going to be higher in the table and some thought we were going to be at the bottom. We are in this position now. It all depends on us now and we do have many points to still play for. We have to go match by match and do the best we can” said Mauricio.

If Al Rayyan win the title on Sturday it will end a 21-year-old long wait could come to an end. It was back in 1995 that Rayyan had won their last Falcon Shield. In each of the pre-match press conferences Rayyan Head Coach Jorge Fossati has always maintained that the ‘next match’ is always the most important. And yesterday he said the same thing except he added with a smile that this time the people would believe it too.

“I am sure that most of the people will agree with me that this will be most important game of the season. That has always been our philosophy and we will continue thinking the same” said Fossati.

“It’s true that this game could give the title for us. But in case we don’t do well we have to remember that the title is won with the points accumulated through the season and not just from one match” added the Uruguayan. Fossati insisted that winning the title does not mean that his team has done their job this season.

“We have been doing well until now but we have six games left this season along with the Qatar Cup and Emir Cup. So there’s still lot of work left for us.” In other games on Saturday sixth-placed Al Arabi - coached by Gianfranco Zola - will be looking to pick up points to get back into top four with just five rounds to go after this week’s clash at Al Khor Stadium.

Al Arabi with a tally of 30 points on Saturday take on Al Kharaitiyat who are placed 12 with 21 points from 20 matches. To entertain ideas of sneaking back into top-four would require Zola’s men to break the two-match losing streak.

In the day’s last match 10th placed Al Ahli will look to pull away from the QSL relegation zone when they face Al Sailiya at Al Ahli Stadium. Al Ahli will be hoping to add to their tally of 22 points to relieve their relegation fears. Whilst for Al Sailiya they are in 7th spot and have a tally of 28 points.

Kharaitiyat head coach Amar Osim believes improving the confidence of the players is the key to getting back to winning ways.

“We will try to improve our confidence which is the main thing we need in this moment and we are missing it. We have a week before our next game and we will work on this aspect during that” said Osim during the pre-match press conference.

Kharaitiyat have had a staggered performance this season and are not where they should be. But Osim believes that his team should accept the situation and work hard to get out of it. “

“We have many people in our club who think that we don’t belong where we are in the standings right now. But we are where we are. We have to act according to where we are and not like we belong somewhere else. We need to work hard and get out of this situation” said the Bosnian.

“In such situations the best thing is to act normal and if you are able to do so then that’s 80 per cent of the job done. That’s never easy because everybody changes and acts differently.”The Peninsula