“We’re disappointed but played well,” expressed Al Rayyan’s head coach, Poya Asbaghi, following his team’s unfortunate loss to Al Hilal. Turay was visibly disheartened by the result, especially considering his team’s impressive performance throughout the match.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, the Swedish coach elaborated, “We’re disappointed to have lost this match. We always play to win, but there are different ways to lose. Today, Al Rayyan lost despite playing well. We came out of the match feeling strong, and we need to build on that. Al Hilal scored in the first half, but by the 40th minute, we started dominating the game and could have easily equalized. Unfortunately, the team went through a period of decline, allowing Al Hilal to score two more goals. When you let your guard down against Al Hilal, you’re going to concede goals.”
Poya Asbaghi emphasized that the scoreline didn’t reflect his team’s performance, as Al Rayyan made a strong comeback in the second half, pressing hard and even managing to score a goal. He expressed pride in his players’ performance and their unwavering spirit, noting that teams often concede multiple goals when trailing Al Hilal by three, but Al Rayyan fought back and could have scored more.
He added, “It’s not enough to play well in attack; we need to improve our defensive play. If we can address this in the future, we’ll bounce back in the coming matches.”
Poya Asbaghi also commended goalkeeper Paulo Victor for his performance and praised the new signings, who he believed had shown promise despite joining the team late. He acknowledged that they needed more time to adapt to the team and elevate the team’s overall performance.