Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Doha: Lekhwiya coach Eric Gerets wants his players to put last week’s away win against Al Hilal behind them and focus on putting in another solid performance against the Saudi club on Wednesday in order to secure their passage to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.
The Qatari club, who are making their first ever appearance in the competition’s knockout stage after finishing top of Group B, grabbed the initiative in the Round of 16 clash when Youssef Msakni’s late deflected goal gave them a 1-0 victory over the Group D runners-up in Riyadh last Wednesday.
It was Lekhwiya’s first ever away victory in the competition and it puts the firmly in the driver’s seat for the return match at the recently-opened Lekhwiya Club Stadium, where they won all three of their games during the group stage.
But while they hold the upper hand against the Saudi giants, Gerets want to ensure that his players do not lose their focus.
“We will not be distracted by the result of the first leg despite winning the match and getting a good advantage,” said the Belgian who was coach of Al Hilal when they reached the AFC Champions League semi-finals three years ago.
“I have warned my players not to count on the first leg result and to give their best tomorrow because Al Hilal are a strong side and they will be looking for revenge.
“We got a good result in the last match but this doesn’t mean that we can underestimate our opponents. In football, you must concentrate on all your matches and give a good performance in order to achieve your targets and that’s what we are looking forward to do.”
While they are acknowledged as one of the giants of Asian football with two victories each in the Asian Club Championship and Asian Cup Winners’ Cup, Al Hilal have yet to even make it to the AFC Champions League final.
Their frustrations in the competition look set to continue unless they can get a result in Doha although they can draw some inspiration from their away victories against Esteghlal in Iran and Al Rayyan in Qatar during the group phase.
“We will not give up in the second leg despite the fact that we lost the first leg at home,” said Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic, who arrived with his team in Doha on Monday.
“We are going into the match with a difficult situation after losing the first half of the encounter but we must be ready to make a good comeback.
“We know that the match will be very hard and we must give a greater effort and have full concentration. We must also avoid the mistakes which led to the first leg defeat and we will be fighting until the last minute in order to advance to the quarter-finals.”
Photo: WSG