AFC Cup: Al-Wahda in a “make-or-break” game

DAMASCUS,(ST)- After defeats in their first two fixtures, Al Wahda coach Raafat Mohammad has labelled his side’s AFC Cup Group C trip to 2013 finalists Qadsia Sports Club as a “make-or-break” game.

The Syrian FA Cup winners lost their opener to Bahraini side Al Hidd 3-1 last month before falling to Iraq champions Al Shorta by the same score line at home last week after a second-half brace from Amjed Kalaf  and a late penalty from Mahdi Kareem negated their first-half lead.

“The match against Qadsia is very hard and it’s a make-or-break for us. We want to get a positive result which will push us forward in order to battle for a place in the knockout stage of the competition,” said Al Wahda coach Mohammad.

“There is no doubt that Qadsia have the upper hand in the match because they are going through a good period and they have excellent players. However, we will try our best to show that Syrian football is still good.”

Kuwait Premier League table-toppers Qadsia continue to dominant on the domestic front with an eight-game winning streak after defeating Kheitan 2-1 in their latest league match last Saturday,reports the AFC correspondent.

And Qadsia’s Khaled Ebrahim will play against Al Wahda after his recovery from a recent groin injury, although fellow forward Bader Al Mutwaa remains sidelined with a broken foot.

“We want to win the match against Al Wahda in order to strengthen our leadership on top of the group and our chances of qualifying from the group stage. We know that a win is important for us and we want to achieve it,” said coach Mohammad Ebrahim.

“The players are ready although we are worried that some of them could be tired due to the heavy schedule that we have at the moment. However, I’m confident that the players will show a good performance in the match.”

Like Qadsia, Iraq champions Al Shorta have amassed four points from their opening two games ahead of their trip to Bahrain to face Al Hidd at the National Stadium in Manama.

“I hope that we can have a good match against Al Hidd, who are a strong team and they are not an easy side. All the four teams in the group have good chances to advance to the next round which means all the matches are tough,” said Al Shorta coach Lorival Santos (Lorival Alves dos Santos), who arrived in Manama on Friday with his side following their win in Beirut.

“It’s always hard to meet a team who lost the previous match because they will be looking to make a good comeback. Therefore, we must concentrate and play well in order to get the three points from the match.”

And Al Shorta’s chances of extending their unbeaten record are boosted by the suspensions of Al Hidd striker Ebrahim Habib and defender Ali Bureshaid.

The home side, though, will look to rediscover the form which saw Al Hidd beat Syria’s Al Wahda 3-1 at home at the start of the campaign.

“We are ready for the match against Al Shorta and our ambition is to advance from the group. We know that our opponents are a strong team, but we have good players who we can rely on to get a positive result,” said Al Hidd coach Adnan Ibrahim.

“We had a good performance against Qadsia SC in the previous match despite playing with 10 men. Therefore, we hope that the players will show great ambition to win and try to take advantage of playing at home in front of our fans.”

M.Daoud