Al Duhail players celebrate their victory against Umm Salal on Saturday.
Al Duhail are closer to regaining the QNB Stars League (QSL) crown like never before this season but coach Hernan Crespo has warned focus is crucial for his team in the final two games.
After their 2-1 win over Umm Salal, the Red Knights took their tally to 48 points, opening a five-point lead against second place Al Arabi, who lost to Al Wakrah in their Week 20 clash that took place simultaneously on Saturday.
Crespo is aware any complacency may cost his team which is eyeing its first title since the 2019-20 season.
The Argentine said the job is still unfinished and he needs his entire squad to stay focused as Al Duhail are preparing for their penultimate match against rivals Al Sadd on May 4. They will play their last match against Al Shamal.
“We need everyone to be ready in the next stage because Al Duhail need everyone of us. We have to be present mentally and physically every day, in every training session, and in every official match,” Crespo said after win over Umm Salal.
“Al Duhail have put up a great effort. We are still facing some problems with injuries, but we have a great group of players and very good professionals,” he added.
Michael Olunga’s brace steered Al Duhail to a fighting win over relegation-threatened Umm Salal, who put up a spirited fight against the QSL leaders.
“It was a tough match and we were aware of the difficulty of the match against Umm Salal who put up a strong fight. We remained determined and earned crucial three points as we are looking to regain the title,” said Al Duhail midfielder Ferjani Sassi.
“Now our focus is on the big game against Al Sadd and everyone is looking forward to perform in this important match,” he added.
Al Duhail coach Hernan Crespo during match against Umm Salal.
Al Arabi will not surrender in title race: Coach
Meanwhile, Al Arabi coach Younes Ali said the Dream Team will not give up after it suffered a major blow to their title hopes following loss to Al Wakrah.
In their last two matches, Ali’s side will meet Al Gharafa and third place Al Sadd (41 points), who are out of the title race as defending champions and are now eyeing a second place finish in the league.
“The competition is still going on. There are still two matches left and a lot may happen in these two games. We will not give up and we will fight until the last minute,” the Al Arabi coach said.
After Omar Al Somah netted equaliser for Al Arabi from the spot following Yusuf Abdurisag’s opener for Al Wakrah, the Dream Team conceded a goal in stoppage time from Mohamed Khaled that cost them a point.
“We played well but Al Wakrah was lucky and they surprised us with a late goal as players took front positions in search of a winner,” said Ali.
The match saw Al Arabi star Youssef Msakni, who scored a treble against Al Sailiya in Amir Cup semi-final last week, coming in as a substitute in 78th minute.
“We didn’t want to take risk on Youssef Msakni, especially after he felt some fatigue during the team’s last training session. The decision to play him at the end of the match was taken to avoid any injury,” the coach explained.
