It is a big game, says Masoud

Right from the time he burst on to the youth circuit as a tiny but gutsy midfielder, Fahad Masoud has been one of Al Wahda as well as the UAE national team's most consistent performer.

Fahad, whose game has gained an allround stature from being just a free-kick specialist, can be a handful for any defence while for forwards twice his size he can prove to be a very tough nut to crack.

"I do not want to be reminded of that own goal in the semis against Al Ahli. We have put that behind us and what matters is that we are going to play the President's Cup final in front of His Highness the President and this is a very prestigious final for us," Fahad told Gulf News yesterday.

Commenting on his team's chances Fahad said, "It is certainly a big game. The two best teams in the league are going to face each other.

"However there will be no room for mistakes in Thursday's final," said Fahad, whose team overcame defending champions Al Ahli 3-2 with an injury time goal.

"In the final against Al Ain it will be a close match. The team that scores first may be able to defend the goal. The President's Cup final is a totally different game. For us it is a chance to complete a league and Cup double," the diminutive player said.

Why is it that many a time Al Wahda seems to raise their game when they are in a spot of bother, Fahad was asked.

"It is not true that we play well after we concede a goal. It is like a sleeping man being slapped. Yes, when we concede a goal we are woken up. But you must remember that even the weakest of teams want to do their best against top teams and we are one of the bigger teams in the UAE."

Fahad said he does miss his friend and teammate Basheer Saeed who has been sidelined with an injury.

"We have played together for club and country for a long time now and I do miss him. But we are lucky that there are quite a few players who have filled up very well in Basheer's absence and this has helped the team immensely," Fahad said.

Fahad also added that he is not unduly worried that his rate of converting free-kicks has reduced drastically.

"Earlier I used to be known for the goals I scored off free-kicks. But now I feel I am more useful to the team in quite a few other areas and in the overall analysis this has helped," said Fahad who a few years ago was dubbed as the 'Rocket Launcher' for his feared free-kicks.

Fahad also feels the pressure in the President's Cup final will be on Al Ain. "They lost the league title and they will be under pressure to win the President's Cup. We have done well and feel we have achieved something so the pressure will be less on us," Fahad said.