Al Ahli look to bounce back as QSL resumes

Doha: Al Ahli had a dream start to the QNB 2020-21 season, winning four matches on the trot before a 1-7 drubbing by giants Al Sadd at home jolted their campaign in Round 5.

But, coach Nebosha Jovovic believes a break in the league helped Al Ahli recover from the heavy defeat and his team is now aiming to bounce back in the game against Umm Salal, today. 

The QSL is resuming after a break of over three weeks, with six Round 6 matches to be played over two days from today.

After their defeat to Al Sadd, Al Ahli slipped to second spot with 12 points while the ‘Wolves’ took the top spot with a one point edge.                       

Today, the Jovovic-coached side are facing a relatively easier opponents in Umm Salal, who are struggling on 10th position with just four points. 

However, Al Ahli coach said Umm Salal have improved a lot and his team will have to play well in their match at Qatar SC Stadium, which will kick off at 5:30pm. 

“We are ready to face Umm Salal. The long break between our last match and this match in the league was enough for me to prepare the players in a good way and correct our mistakes in order to be back on the winning path,” Jovovic said in a pre-event press conference. 

The coach said his team has learned from mistakes committed during Al Sadd game and hoped for an improved performance from his ranks in the coming matches. 

“We have not forgotten the heavy loss (1-7) we suffered at the hands of Al Sadd and we have learnt a lot from it. Big defeat is not good. I borrow the saying repeated by coaches in Italy and erstwhile Yugoslavia that “it is better to lose by seven goals at one time than losing seven times by one goal,” he said.

Meanwhile, Umm Salal coach Aziz Ben Askar said at the press conference that his team is also well prepared for the match.   

“Al Ahli are a good team and they began the season in a good way through the work done by their coach and players, so we expect a strong match. We are preparing ourselves and we have a good way of playing,” Askar said yesterday.  

“We work seriously every day, not for this match only, but for all upcoming games this season that I previously described as difficult because it started 10 days after the end of last season." 

"We need to be at the top of our focus because we will play against top teams in the coming weeks, a period that will be difficult for us. Once we finish that, we will know what is our situation,” said Ben Askar.

Today’s other matches will see Qatar SC taking on Al Wakrah on their home turf, and Al Khor hosting Al Sailiya in their Round 6 match.