Al Sadd coach blames fatigue and heat for the defeat

Doha: It was a bolt from the blue for Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira, whose side crashed to a 2-1 defeat against promoted side Al Markhiya in the QNB Stars League on Saturday.

But the Portuguese, who guided Sadd to season-opening title win last week, heaped praise on their opponents.

“Markhiya deserved to win, but I don’t like to lose any game in the league. We’ll work hard to prepare the team well for the upcoming matches,” said Ferreira.

Sadd missed key player Baghdad Bounedjah, who is recuperating a foot injury.

“We missed key players and had to depend on a couple of youngsters. I’m not looking for excuses, but the fatigue and temperature affected us. We were more affected because we just played an intense match in the Sheikh Jassim Cup last week,” said the veteran coach.