I expected a tough game, says Belmadi

Doha: Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi said he expected a tough match against Al Rayyan in the Emir Cup final.

Duhail were made to fight till the end by a battling Rayyan, who could well have created an upset had they taken their chances that came their way towards the end..

“ I expected a tough match and I had said it yesterday,” Belmadi said after the victory. “Rayyan are a strong Champions League team and besides three days ago we played a crucial match against Al Ain and this was bound to be tough.”

The coach was ecstatic about the victory and the season which was a stunning success.

“It’s a great season, of course. Huge achievement from the club and we cannot expect more,” he said.

“We took all the trophies we won all the competitions, we are in the quarterfinal of champions league with eight victories.”

 The Algerian coach said Nam Tae-Hee, who made the spadework for Duhail’s beautiful second goal, was told to assume more attacking responsibility after the injury to his influential captain Youssef Msakni.

“When Msakni was there he and Nam Tae Hee used to share the attacking leadership. This season Msakni was in great form scoring 25 goals and a lot of assists and maybe we saw a little less of Nam than the previous season. But since the injury of Msakni we had this talking together that you have more responsibility,” said Belmadi, who added that his team was not a finished product yet.

“We are always improving. Players like Sultan Al Brake and Bassam Hisham are all improving and Al Moez still has scope for improvement. It is a constant process.”