Portuguese Jose Gomez, manager of Al-Khaleej, complained about the pressure of the Saudi Pro League schedule after his team’s goalless draw with Al-Shabab on Saturday in the second round of the competition.
Gomez said in remarks published by the Saudi sports newspaper Al-Riyadh: “Playing a match every three days at the start of the season? It’s a bit strange, and the people in charge of the league schedule certainly have difficulty organizing the matches because of the Gulf Cup and Asian Cup.”
He added, “In my opinion, if the league had started a week earlier, it would have been more comfortable for everyone. We are not lucky, as we will play against Al-Hilal, who have five days of rest, but at the same time, all clubs are suffering from the pressure of the league schedule.”
Regarding the match against Al-Shabab, Al-Khaleej’s manager explained that it was evenly matched between the two teams, saying, “It was a tactical match, and defensively we were excellently organized, doing what we needed to do on the defensive side.”
He continued, “The humidity was very high and may have affected the quality of the match. If the conditions had been different, we might have seen a better level of play.”
He added, “In the second half, we had many opportunities, and the match was evenly matched between the two teams. Al-Shabab wasted many chances, and so did we.”
Gomez confirmed that the draw represents a positive point for his team at the start of the journey, saying, “I see it as a positive point. The season will be difficult, and we have excellent players and a good team.”
The former Zamalek manager concluded, “We played to win, but Al-Shabab also has high-quality players.”
