Al Shahania coach Alvaro Mejia spoke to the media ahead of their Play-Off against Al Markhiya.

“Preparations to face Al Markhiya are going wonderfully and there is a state of discipline and high spirit among the players during training and we hope to achieve victory and qualify for the senior league, considering the match as a Cup finals.

“I have great confidence in the team to win the playoff match, especially since Al Shahaniya are in a state of continuous development, and we will play to the strengths that we have in the team.

“Al Markhiya are a team worthy of respect and we know it well, given that we previously faced them when they were playing in the second division league. They have high technical capabilities, but we will fight in the match to win, especially since it is a great opportunity for us to qualify for the first division league, and the match is a great challenge for me.

“Naturally, this is a great challenge for us to break the jinx and achieve victory over Al Markhiya, but at the same time we know it is good that we will meet a good competitor and we respect them a lot.

“I am confident in the players’ capabilities and I know very well that they will do their best in the match. They will play with confidence and great focus and will play the match as if it were a final match. We hope that we will be happy with the result after the end of the match,” said Alvaro Mejia.
Al Shahania player Niall Mason said, “Facing Al Markhiya is very important for the team. After efforts over an entire season, we succeeded in presenting distinguished performances and competing in the second division until the last round. We could have qualified directly, but luck was not on our side.

“Al Markhiya are one of the good teams and have in their ranks a group of players with high potential who succeeded in scoring many points in the past rounds, but our focus is very high and we are determined to achieve victory, and it is an important match for us as well.

“The Al Markhiya match is a cup final and we, as players, have a clear desire to win the match and we promise the club’s fans and everyone to do our best to make them happy.”