BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Two demoralising defeats inside six days have forced the Qatar Stars League (QSL) defending champions Lekhwiya to head back to the drawing board.
On Saturday, title favourites Al Rayyan crushed Lekhwiya 3-1 in an ill-tempered clash that forced coach Djamel Belmadi to pledge a better fight in the coming games.
“We need to fight. It’s not over. I still believe in hard work. My players and I think alike. I think when that happens (a loss), you have to accept and just walk and prepare yourself for the next match,” Belmadi said after watching his side lose for the second time in less than a week.
“This is what I have done in my life,” the Algerian said. “My players will have to keep their head up and work harder, especially when when you know that you make something good today,” he explained.
Last week, Eljaish stunned the defending champions with a late strike through Karim Ziani for a 1-0 win.
On Saturday, Diego Aguirre-coached Al Rayyan added to Lekhwiya’s woes with a red card.
“I am not the one who would complain or talk too much about the referees. They can make mistakes like the players and coaches make mistakes,” Belmadi said when asked about debatable decisions handed out by the referee in the third-round QSL clash.
“But you know when there were three referees watching the ball, I don’t know how they did not see a penalty (in favour of Lekhwiya),” Belmadi said with a forlorn look.
“Their (penalty) call could have changed the game. I am not putting all the blame on them but it was very important action at a very important time,” he said of an incident in which Lekhwiya were denied a spot kick late in the second half when the defending champions were trailing 1-2.
Seconds later, Lekhwiya conceded a third goal when Al Rayyan’s Hamid Ismael found the net with goalkeeper Baba Malick out of the box.
“So this (poor call) also made the difference for Lekhwiya. It was not a clear decision from the referee,” Belmadi said.
The QSL teams have dispersed for 20 days as Qatar national team prepares for its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Uzbekistan on October 16.
However, the following three weeks may signal the end of Belmadi’s reign as coach.
According to a newspaper report published in Al Sharq, Belmadi, 36, may be replaced by Belgian coach Eric Gerets after Lekhwiya went down on Saturday.
Belmadi, who guided Lekhwiya to the QSL title for the second time in a row last March, promised a revival in results.
“We will return to winning ways. We will restore our position at the top of the standings,” Belmadi said.
Al Rayyan coach Aguirre said: “Lekhwiya played well, especially in the first half but we did even better in the second. Lekhwiya had a few chances to score in the first half but we defended well. We deserved to win because we turned things around in the second half.”
Aguirre added: “This result should not fool us in any way. We have a long way to go. It is too early to say that whether we could win the QSL title. We have a lot of work to do. We need to keep raising the level of our performance with each game. That’s what I am looking at.”
THE PENINSULA
