Crespo’s men eye victory to secure a Round of 16 berth

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK DOHA Hernan Crespo’s men could confirm automatic progression into the last 16 of the AFC Champions LeagueTM 2022 with a win against gr...

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORKDOHAHernan Crespo’s men could confirm automatic progression into the last 16 of the AFC Champions LeagueTM 2022 with a win against group hosts Al Taawoun FC on Friday at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, while a loss would still give them a good chance of progression as one of the best placed second placed sides. The Argentine, on the other hand, want to ensure the former.The two sides last met on Matchday One, when Al Taawoun came from behind to win 2-1, thanks to Alvaro Medran’s excellent effort four minutes from time, after falling behind the Edmilson’s opener, which was canceled out five minutes later by Cameroonian Leandre Tawamba.The duo are leading the group; Al Duhail have nine points from four games, while Al Taawoun are two points behind them with two wins, a draw, and a loss. As things stand, Van den Brom’s men are the top second-placed side, and a win could propel them to the top of the group or at the very least confirm one of the three spots reserved for group runners-up in the last 16 of the competition.“I believe that this group gets more difficult as matches pass by,” said Crespo. “We will play against a team that has no other option but to win in order to progress automatically to the Round of 16. It’s a difficult competition with little time between matches but players eventually adapt to all situations and I believe our squad has the ability and experience to come out of this game on top.”“We have worked incredibly hard to prepare for this game, we’re going in aiming for a win to go through instantly because we don’t want to be at a position where on the final matchday, we’re still looking for points or hoping we’d be one of the best second placed teams.”Head coach John van den Brom was adamant his Al Taawoun FC side have to win when they face Al Duhail SC in their penultimate Group D game.“This is another important and difficult encounter against Al Duhail,” said Van den Brom.“We have to win to get that top spot and automatic progression to the Round of 16. Our opposition is very good, well organised, and have exceptional talent across all three lines. They have won their past three games too which must have given them a boost in confidence coming into our match.“We will do what we can and try to take advantage of their weaknesses in order to get a result like the one we got in the first match.”Al Taawoun’s goal threat has come from a range of players; all six goals have been scored by different players, with Tareq Abdullah and Saad Yaslam being prime creators providing two assists each.“The rules indicate that we can only field three foreign players per game, and at the club we have seven. This is why we try to rotate as much as we can to give everyone an opportunity to show what they have got.”