Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuwait City: Coach Antonio Puche is hoping tiredness is not a factor as Qadsia SC begin the defence of their AFC Cup title against Turkmenistan’s Ahal FC in Group C on Wednesday.
The AFC Cup holders (pictured) go into the game on the back of a humiliating 6-0 hammering at home to Al Salmiyah in their domestic league on Sunday.
And the Spanish coach will also be without the suspended Khaled Al Qahtani and injured duo Amer Al Matoug and Ivan Nagaev.
“We have fought on a number of fronts recently and this has affected our players, especially in the last match,” said Puche, who saw his side miss out on a place in the AFC Champions League after losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in the play-offs last week.
“After an impressive performance against Al Ahli, hopefully we can return to winning ways against Ahal FC.”
Turkmenistan cup holders Ahal, meanwhile, have not played since their impressive 3-2 victory against Fanja in Oman last Tuesday which secured their place in the group stage for the first time.
“It will be a very hard match for us because we are playing the defending champions, which will put pressure on the team,” said coach Boris Grigoryants.
“We played in the AFC Cup play-offs and the heavy schedule has affected the players, but that will not stop us from producing a good performance.”
Also on Wednesday, tournament debutants FC Istikol from Tajikistan entertain Iraq’s Arbil, who lost the 2014 AFC Cup final on penalties to Qadsia.
“We have spent a lot of time preparing for the match, including a training camp in Turkey, so we are in a good physical situation,” said FC Istikol coach Mubin Ergashev with the Tajikistan champions having not played a game since November.
“We are only thinking about victory and will battle on the pitch to try and achieve a positive result.”
Arbil, on the other hand, are unbeaten in four games having beaten Al Quwa Al Jawiya 2-1 last week.
“Our group is not easy to qualify from and we have to play our home games at a neutral venue, but I hope the experienced players who played in the Asian Cup for Iraq last month will be at a good level,” said coach Ayoub Odecho Bargam.
“The wet conditions may affect both teams, but we will play to win the game.”
Photo: WSG