El Jaish desperate for a win before break

Qatar Stars League (QSL) giants El Jaish are eyeing a win against Al Sailiya today when the two sides meet in a round 15 clash at Al Gharafa Stadium.
 El Jaish, with a tally of 29 points, are behind QSL leaders Al Rayyan (39) and ahead of third-placed Lekhwiya (28).
After the Sunday clash, the teams disperse for a three-week break as Doha stages the AFC U-23 Championship.
“It’s an important game for us. It will be good to take three points before going into the break,” coach Sabri Lamouchi said yesterday.
“We will do our best to take three points and finish this part of the season with a victory,” Lamouchi added.
‘It will be a tough game for us. Al Sailiya weren’t that good at the beginning of the season. But now, with the work that (coach) Sami Trabelsi has put in, the team has become stronger.
 “Abdelqader Illyas, who was with us before, has helped Al Sailiya become stronger in attack. They are now more dangerous. But we have confidence in our players.
“We want to show the quality in our club but we will face a different Al Sailiya from the first half of the season. We have a good week of preparation and we need to continue to provide a good performance and that’s the only way we can win the game. It’s not going to be an easy game.
 Lamouchi said nine wins out of 14 games was pleasing. “I am satisfied with the performance of my players, with their attitude. I don’t want to change a lot in the team during the transfer window.
“Maybe I will look to boost our defence because that has been an issue for us. But I have to congratulate the players who played in the last two games for their attitude and for the work that they put in. And now we have to be more strong and better prepared for the second half of the season.
 “Players have to understand that this Al Sailiya is not the team we played in the first half of the season. Against Al Rayyan we lost despite giving a good performance. Against Al Sadd we gave a good performance and won. We have to know that this is a difficult game for us but will do our best to take the victory even if our opponent is very good.”
Al Sailiya coach Trabelsi said a win today would bring delight to his camp. Al Sailiya are placed seventh on the QSL points table.
 “This is our last game before the break and hopefully we will continue getting good results. During this small break before the game we prepared our team tactically, tried to keep the players fit and also tried to correct a few mistakes,” Trabelsi said.
 “We are playing a good opponent with one of the best attacking line-ups in Qatar. El Jaish will be a very tough game but we are ready and hope that we will play with concentration for the entire 90 minutes. The victory will be important for us before going into the break.”