Hilal will rise to occasion insists Gerets

AFC – RIYADH, Al Hilal coach Eric Gerets called on his players to rise to the occasion when they look to overcome a 1-0 deficit to Zob Ahan at King Fahad International Stadium on Wednesday and reach the final of the AFC Champions League.

Al Hilal trail to Ghasem Hadadifar’s second-half goal from the first-leg of the semi-final tie but are boosted by the news Yasser Al Qahtani will be fit for the return encounter after the influential striker picked up a knock in Esfahan and had to be substituted.

Midfielder Abdulatif Al Ghanam is also available and Gerets hopes his players force the pace of the game from the opening kick-off in order to score the two goals they need to progress.

“I hope that the players will show what we will ask them for,” said the Belgian (pictured).
“We will have an attacking plan in the game and hopefully we can perform our plan well as Zob Ahan can make things harder for us if they score.

“Zob Ahan missed a lot of chances in the first-leg and I hope that they will play with an attacking formation as this will give us a lot of scoring chances as well.

“I’m not worried about the match because we are here and we are competing to win the title. I previously visited Japan once and I want to visit it again with Al Hilal.”

The 56-year-old also hopes a full house will help to spur his side on against their Iranian opponents.

“Al Hilal have a big fan base and I’m looking forward to see many fans attending the game on Wednesday,” added the Gerets.

“I would like to see a full crowd for the game as this will motivate us more.
Al Hilal captain Osama Hawsawi insisted the team were fully focused on the task of scoring the goals they need to book their place in next month’s showpiece encounter in Tokyo.

“Zob Ahan are using a well-known way to distract our attention but our answer will be on the pitch,” he said.

“Hopefully we can enjoy a big win in order to qualify for the final of the competition and carry on with our dream.”