Al Shahania coach Jose Murcia spoke to the media ahead of their 2024-2025 season Ooredoo Stars League Week 17 match against Al Duhail.

“We are ready for this match like all matches, the focus was more on the players’ recovery after the last match the team played against Umm Salal. We respect Al Duhail, the match is like a final and the most important thing for us this season.

“Al Duhail are the league leaders and will enter the game to win because they are under pressure due to the closeness in points with their competitors. We have our goals in this match, the first goal is the three points and the second goal is to get closer to the top four. Both teams need the three points.

“I thank the fans who supported the team in all matches and their support is what made the difference in the past matches, so I ask them to support the team in the upcoming matches,” said Murcia.

Al Shahania player Yousef Hani said, “The preparations for facing Al Duhail are like the previous matches and each match has its own characteristics. Facing Al Duhail is considered equal between the two teams and we are the first team to beat Al Duhail and winning the match brings the team closer towards competing for the top-four bracket.

“The team enters every match with the spirit of victory and the best evidence is achieving four consecutive victories. Even if we concede a goal in the match, we play until the 90th minute and the atmosphere with the coach and players is what makes the difference. We will try to achieve the fifth victory in a row.”