24 Jan 2017
Doha, 24 January 2017. Aspire Academy made two wins from as many matches with an impressive 1-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday 24th January night at Al Kass International Cup. The host team had already qualified for the quarter finals after beating Raja Casablanca from Morocco on day 2 of the prestigious youth competition but the win takes them to the top of Group A. This means Aspire Academy will meet either the team that finishes second in Group C and that’s either AS Roma from Italy or Esperance from Tunisia.
Aspire Academy made the most of an error by the PSV defence in their own penalty box, leading to an alert Abdulrasheed Ibrahim intercepting the pass before setting up his captain Nasser Al Ahrak to side foot into the bottom corner. It was a goal made from hard pressing from Aspire a tactic the host used successfully in the match and seemed to unsettle the Dutch side.
Aspire dominated possession in the first half that was characterized by some fierce midfield duels and sparse goalmouth action. PSV upped the ante in the second half and peppered Aspire goal with shots but the latter stood firm. Both sides had chances to score towards the end of the match but a combination of some fine goalkeeping and inaccuracy ensured it finished 1- nil to Aspire.
Aspire Academy head coach Bruno Pinheiro sang praise of his side after the game, “We deserved the win tonight and were the better side and this against a strong side like PSV makes me happy. The boys played to the instructions and plan we set out for this match and it paid off. Looking ahead to the quarter finals, we will continue to prepare our team just like we have done before. This means we prepare and plan to play our game as opposed to working a particular strategy for the opposition, whether its AS Roma or Esperance”
Meanwhile PSV head coach Petrus Uneken congratulated Aspire Academy and acknowledged his charges had faced a fiercely competitive side, “Aspire Academy’s desire to win was evident and they were determined so were our boys and as a result the two teams produced an exciting match. I am pleased that we go through to the quarters and play Eintracht Frankfurt, yet another good team but to win this Cup you have to face such strong teams like Aspire and Frankfurt so we will be ready for the next game.”
Aspire Academy and PSV Eindhoven return to the playing field on Thursday 26th January as the tournament reaches the quarter final stage.