Doha: Qatar Stars League (QSL) side Al Gharafa has confirmed that head coach Pedro Caixinia has signed a one-year deal with the club.

In a statement on the clubs official website Gharafa noted that the former Santos Laguna coach had signed an extension to his current deal meaning that his contract is set to end at the conclusion of the 2016/2017 season.

Since joining in late December the Portuguese coach has changed the fortunes of Gharafa who were struggling towards the bottom of the QSL standings.

Under his tenure Gharafa improved their style of play eventually finishing ninth in the QSL standings and heading to the quarter finals of the Emir Cup.

The Cheetah’s will now be confirming their preseason training camp in which Caixinia will get down to work with the squad ahead of the new QSL season. Meanwhile Lekhwiya coach Djamel Belmadi seemed a relieved man after watching his side overcome a resilient Al Sailiyah on Sunday.

Lekhwiya relied on a late goal by Youssef Msakni to see off Al Sailiyah 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Emir Cup on Sunday.

“Al Sailiyah resorted to defensive tactics and which became a difficult task” Belmadi said at the press conference after the game.

“We can’t blame Al Sailiyah for their tactics so when they became defensive we had to seek new opportunities to score a goal.

“We wanted to avoid the penalty shootout and we succeeded in doing that” Belmadi said after Msakni fired one home from close range in the 87th minute of the game on home soil at Abdullha Bin Khalifa Stadium.

“It was a tough game and match full of surprises. We faced a strong side defending furiously. They reached the Emir Cup final two years ago but we managed to reach the semi-finals this time” the Algerian said.

“If we had scored earlier in the game things would have been different but since we scored so late it became a difficult match” Belmadi said.

“We will be playing a side (El Jaish) we have clashed many times this season. We have to find a way to move ahead and win” Belmadi said.

El Jaish crushed Al Ahli 4-2 to book date with Lekhwiya. The semi-final will be played on May 13.

Al Sailiya’s coach Sami Trabelsi said his played fought hard.

“There was discipline and tactic in our method but we were unlucky” Trabelsi said.

“We entered the game without fear since we had nothing to lose but we were not successful in winning the game” he said.

“We have a strong side in attack and it is possible to make a difference with such players but lacked bite in the game” he said.

“I thank the players for the their effort against Lekhwiya and in the season. We lost to a side that has many stars” the coach said.

He said the current season was not bad as next season the club could get a quality striker to offset the balance among the top teams in Qatar Stars League (QSL).

The coach refuted the assertion that Al Sailiyah plays only defensive. He said a top side like Atletico Madrid also plays defensive and yet produced good results.The Peninsula