Sanchez Proud Of Al Sadd's Spirit

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Head coach Feliz Sanchez remained proud of his players despite Al Sadd's exit from the AFC Champions League Elite on Sunday. Sanchez praised the fighting spirit of his players as they twice fought back to draw level in their quarter-final against Japan's Kawasaki Frontale before eventually succumbing to a 3-2 defeat in extra time.
“Congratulations to Kawasaki and good luck to them for the rest of the tournament,” said Sanchez.“We were behind twice during the game because we didn't start in the way that we would have liked to. The team tried, it was not easy. Kawasaki were very well organised and made it hard for us to reach the last third. Still we were able to equalise and reach extra time but then they got the third goal and we couldn't come back. It was a small margin that made the difference in this kind of game. I have to congratulate the players for the effort. We came a long way in this competition but we couldn't make it through.”
Paulo Otavio cancelled out Erison's early strike before Al Sadd equalised again through Claudinho's 71st minute effort after Frontale had regained their lead through Marcinho. Having witnessed first hand the quality of Frontale, Sanchez believes that their semi-final against Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr Club could go either way.
“Kawasaki have a good squad and we've already faced Al Nassr in the league phase, so I can say that both sides have the quality to win. Kawasaki showed they have good structure and in 90 minutes, anything can happen, anyway I expect a very competitive game.”
Meanwhile, Kawasaki Frontale coach Shigetoshi Hasebe says his side has what it takes to win the tournament. Frontale are the only side from the East Zone to reach the semi-finals after Gwangju FC, Yokohama F Marinos and Buriram United faltered against Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal SFC, Al Nassr Club and Al Ahli Saudi FC respectively.

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