Al Kharaitiyat grabbed a vital point against Al Gharafa on Saturday with a 1-1 result. The draw meant that The Blue Waves are hovering above the Qatar Stars League (QSL) relegation zone on 23 points.
Al Kharaitiyat’s head of football Abdel Nasser al-Saadi, in an interview with QSL online, talks about his side’s chances of surviving relegation from the QSL.
“It has been a difficult few months for the side, but I feel that Kharaitiyat will be not be relegated,” al-Saadi said. “I have huge confidence in my players that they will battle in the remaining three games in the league to save the side.”
Al Kharaitiyat are scheduled to face two relegation rivals in Al Khor and Al Wakrah, with Umm Salal as the opponent in the final game of the season. These games, al-Saadi said, were winnable.
“Our destiny is very much in our own hands. We will show plenty of fight in these games.”
Reflecting on the campaign so far, al-Saadi pointed out that Al Kharaitiyat could be missing some key personnel for the final games of the season.
“In the recent game versus Al Gharafa, three players faced injuries — Hassan Abdel Fattah, Vivien Aquasy and Al Mahdi Lekhmasi. All three of them will have medical tests in Aspetar in the coming days,” he said.
Commenting on the increase in the number of injuries for his side, al-Saadi said: “We are at the end of the league season and the players are under huge pressure due to the matches, which are bound to lead to injuries.”
Talking about the responsibility for the decline in the team’s performance, al-Saadi said: “Everyone is held liable for that. We can’t blame one party over the other. Also we can’t blame the head coach Ammar Osim given the fact that football is a team sport and therefore we need the contribution of everyone for the success of the side.”
Al Kharaitiyat will face Al Khor next on April 3. (QSL.com.qa)