Al Rayyan striker Sebastain Soria is expecting a tough battle when his undefeated side take on Al Duhail in the QNB Stars League match of the week for round three. The Qatar international striker gave an exclusive interview to QSL online ahead of the match of the week encounter at Al Sadd stadium on Friday evening.
Opening up the conversation Soria stressed he was expecting a football match of high quality. “Our next match against Duhail will be a good match. They have a good side following the merger with El Jaish, and have strength all over the pitch we will have to be focused if we are to win.”
Soria is uniquely placed to give his view on the newly formed Duhail side, having played for three years at Lekhiwya and revealed the side is packed with top players. “I was with Lekhwiya for three good seasons, and I know their players well. In midfield and attack they have great players in Nam Tae Hee, Msakni and Karim Boudifaf. They can all certainly trouble any side in the league on their day.”
“I’m looking forward to playing against Lucas Mendes we have had some real battles on the pitch in the past when he was with El Jaish. I think he plays similar to me, very tough and wanting to win everything. He is now at a new club, but I am expecting another close encounter when we play on Friday” noted the striker when asked about new Duhail defender Lucas Mendes ahead of their match of the week.
Soria also added that he feels that the Duhail defence could be exploited by his Rayyan side heading into the game. “I don’t want to say that their defence is a weakness because they have won two games in the league. However they have many new players defensively and it takes a few games to get that communication perfect, this has been shown in the goals they conceded against Qatar SC. We will be looking to get the better of them during the game.”
The Lions have been free flowing in attack this season, finding the back of the net on seven occasions from just two games. Key to their goalscoring prowess in summer signing Abdulrazak Hamdullah according to Soria. “ Everyone knows how good Hamdullah is in the league, he had a big injury last season but he has now recovered and back to his best. We have built up a good relationship and hopefully this will continue this season.”
“First and foremost our target is to finish in the top four of the league. Then we will be looking at the title later into the season. Al Rayyan is a big club and we are always fighting for titles, but we have to be patient and take each game as it comes” noted Soria when asked about Rayyan’s title ambitions this season.
Ending the interview Soria called for full concentration from his Rayyan side when they take on Al Duahail. “ Most of the Duhail squad won the league last season as Lekhwiya, and know what they have to do to win big games. For Al Rayyan we have to continue the momentum that we have built in the last two matches. Whilst we have to focus in defence and not make any mistakes as they can be exploited by a team like Duhhail.”
Source: qsl.com.qa