Rodgers defiant despite first RSL defeat with Al Qadsiah
Rodgers defiant despite first RSL defeat with Al Qadsiah Understandably disappointed by a first defeat in the Roshn Saudi League, and to local rivals too, Brendan Rodgers underlined the work already done at Al Qadsiah - and, crucially, what was to come. The Al Khobar club lost a see-saw Eastern Derby encounter on Sunday, the duel in Dammam proving one for the ages . Not only did it feature five goals - ultimately, Al Ettifaq triumphed 3-2 - but two red cards, with visitors Al Qadsiah concluding the clash with nine men.
Just after the half hour, Mohammed Abu Al Shamat saw red for a push on Ondrej Duda while, deep into injury-time, defensive partner Gaston Alvarez was sent off when lunging for the ball. That punishment arrived immediately after Nacho’s 95th-minute equaliser was chalked off following a VAR review. Nacho's 95th-minute equaliser at Al Ettifaq was ruled out for a foul in the build-up So, having gone 17 RSL matches unbeaten since his "landmark" Al Qadsiah appointment - a club record - and boasting a 76 percent win rate, Rodgers was left to rue a first reverse.
However, that didn’t mean he was rocked by it. “I want to, first of all, give a huge amount of credit to my players,” the former Celtic and Liverpool manager said. “And there's two parts to this.
Firstly, the game, because we didn't deserve to lose; we certainly did not deserve to have two players sent off. “So, we're very, very frustrated with the decision - especially the second one with Gaston - but, in the second half, the players were so brave. They kept pushing, kept fighting, kept running, and their quality deserved to get something from the game.
So, from the game perspective, I don't feel we deserve the defeat. ” Rodgers then added: “On the bigger picture, I arrived here in the middle of December, and to sit here with the first defeat, it gives me great pride in all the work that we've done, and how hard the players have worked, and how good they have been. “And now we have to recover from this game.