Qatar- Lamouchi sets twin targets for El Jaish

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)

By Armstrong Vas

Doha: El Jaish coach Sabri Lamouchi has set twin targets for his team in the coming weeks – one to hold on to the second place spot in the Qatar Stars League and the other one is to keep the winning momentum going in the AFC Champions League.

The Frenchman feels both the tasks are difficult ones but attainable.

In the QSL with the Al Rayyan already having clinched the title the Army men are in second place with 43 points followed by Al Sadd (42) and Lekhwiya (41) with three rounds remaining.

The 44-year-old Lyon-born coach said the next match of the QSL against Qatar SC will be a ‘tough’ one for his team.

“It will be a not be a easy match for us. We lost to Qatar SC in the first round. We have to win to the match to maintain out second place position in the standings” Lamouchi said while speaking to The Peninsula after the Emir Cup draw ceremony.

El Jaish lost the first leg match to Qatar SC 1-0 and the two side meet in the Round 24 match on April 1.

Elaborating further Lamouchi said coach Sebastao Lazaroni’s side will come hard on El Jaish.

“Qatar SC are fighting a relegation battle and they need a win to stay in the QSL first division much as we need a win they are keen on full points. They have a much improved side and have good players and it will not be an easy game” said the former midfielder who took over the reins of the Qatar club in December 2014.

The key word in the coming day for Lamouchi’s side will be to remained focused on the targets.

“We need to focus on the last three games of the Qatar Stars League it is not easy. We need to focus on our second place position. Focus on the last three games and try to keep our position the second position in the rankings which is not a bad position and after that we will see what happens you know it is not easy to finish second” said the Frenchman.

El Jaish have two more matches in the QSL after the Qatar SC encounter taking on Umm Salal on April 10 and finishing their QSL engagements against Al Sadd on April 15 in the last and final round in the 14-team league played on a double leg basis.

Besides the QSL engagements Lamoushi side have also impressed in the AFC Champions league having won all their three league matches so far.

Lamoushi said his team has been trying to strike a fine balance playing in the QSL and the AFC Champions League and maintain consistency in both competitions which he said is a not an easy job.

“It’s really really difficult (to play in QSL and AFC Champions League) because you know the players are thinking about the Champions League so they think about the game they played before and also the game which they will be involved latter on” he added.

“Playing matches of AFC Champions League and QSL in close proximity is so hard. We face on Friday Qatar not an easy game for us we want to play and win this match because we want to maintain the second position and it is before the AFC Champions League game (April 5). We do not need to motivate but try to field the best team in both compeitions to take the full three points.

The Qatar club has won all the three matches in Group D of the AFC Champions League to remain on top of the four-team group.

However the next match against Nasaf of Uzbekistan which is an away match will be a tough one said the El Jaish coach.

“The next one in Nasaf will be very hard may be last chance to Nasaf to get points and attain their goal. Nasaf lost to us in Doha and they will go all out for a win in their home match” said Lamoushi.

Lamoushi said his team will not rest on the laurels but seek to raise the bar higher in the coming AFC Champions League matches.

“As for us nine points is good but nothing in our hands yet and until we do not have the qualifications we need to stay focus and need hard work.”

The two clubs clash in the AFC Champions League Group D match on April 5. The first leg in Doha on March 16 saw El Jaish edging the Uzbekistan club 1-0.

Lamoushi side began their Group D campaign with a 2-1 win over Al Ain of UAE on February 24 and followed it up with an identical win over the UAE side in Doha to pick up full three points.

The Qatar club lead the group with nine points followed by Al Ain Nasaf and Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia all having played three matches and have three points against their name.

El Jaish have three more matches to go in Group D before they can seal a place in the next round and for that Lamoushi is keen to maintain the winning streak.

Besides El Jaish former QSL champions Lekhwiya is the other team in the AFC Champions League.

Lekhwiya is languishing at the bottom of Group B with just two points from three matches. Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr leads with five points from three matches followed by Zobhan of Iran also with five points and Bunyodkor have two points from three matches.

The Peninsula