Al-Sadd drops points again after drawing with Al-Ahli
Al-Sadd drops points again after drawing with Al-Ahli
04 Feb 2016
Al-Sadd football first team continued its run of dropping points after a 1-1 draw with Al-Ahli in the QSL Round 17 match played on Thursday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium. The single point earned from the match kept Al-Sadd in fourth place in the league standings with 29 points.
Al-Ahli striker Meshaal Abdullah scored the first goal of the match, converting a a 70th minute penalty. Substitute Ali Asad managed to get the equalizer for Al-Sadd in the 87th minute.
A cautious start
The match started with both sides showing some caution and also spirit as they tested the waters. There were no clear chances for the first quarter of an hour. It was Al-Sadd who tried to attack first but Ahli midfielder Ali Qadri struck a shot from outside the box which was put out by Al-Sadd keeper Saad al-Dosari.
A balanced approach from Al-Sadd
Al-Sadd tried to approach the game with a balance between offence and defence; they started with a 4-2-3-1 formation: Pedro, Belhadj, Pouraliganji and Gaser forming the back four while Talal and Xavi formed the double pivot. Khalfan, Meshaal and Nasser were the attacking trio and Hassan al-Haydos was the striker up front.
Khalfan wastes chance to take the lead
Khalfan Ibrahim had a great chance to break the deadlock on 30 minutes. After good passes between Xavi, al-Haydos and Meshaal, the ball fell to Khalfan in the penalty box but his shot went wide of the right post. Al-Haydos then had an attempt in the 34th minute but his shot was parried away by Al-Ahli keeper Amer al-Dosari for a corner. Al-Sadd kept up the pressure in the final few minutes of the first half but to no avail and the referee blew his whistle to signal halftime with the score still 0-0.
Two changes at once
At the start of the second half, Al-Sadd made two changes in its lineup with Nasser Ibrahim and Meshaal al-Shammari being replaced by Abdelkarim Hassan and Ali Asad. Ali Asad played as the playmaker while Abdelkarim took his place on the left wing. Belhadj then moved into central midfield. Al-Sadd put pressure on the Al-Ahli goal both from deep and from the wings with the movement of the two substitutes. In the 63rd minute, Khalfan sent a powerful shot from outside the box which went above the crossbar.
Meshaal Abdullah puts Al-Ahli in front
On 70 minutes, Al-Ahli took the lead. Meshaal Abdullah was fouled in the box by Gaser Yahya and the Ahli striker converted the resulting penalty to make it 1-0 with 20 minutes to go. Al-Sadd looked for a strong reaction but it was not up to the required level. Jesualdo Ferreira then made his final substitution, bringing on Musab Khodr in place of Gaser. In the 82nd minute, Xavi penetrated into the box and squared the ball to Khalfan whose mishit shot went over the bar.
Substitute Asad scores a late leveller
In the 87th minute, Al-Sadd managed to score after two substitutes combined. Ali Asad received a pass from Musab Khodr, penetrated into the box and then shot with his left foot to score past Amer al-Dosari and get the equalizer for Al-Sadd. The referee went on to signal 4 minutes of additional time but no more goals came and the game ended 1-1.
MATCH DETAILS
Al-Sadd v Al-Ahli
Qatar Stars League Round 17
VENUE: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al-Sadd Club
LINEUPS:
AL-SADD: Saad al-Dosari, Morteza Pouraliganji, Pedro Miguel, Gaser Yahya (Musab Khodr), Xavi Hernandez, Talal al-Baloushi, Khalfan Ibrahim, Hassan al-Haydos, Nasser Ibrahim (Ali Asad), Meshaal al-Shammari (Abdelkarim Hassan)
AL-AHLI: Amer al-Dosari, Meshaal Abdullah (Mujahid Abdullah), Abdulrahman Musabah, Mohammed Hassan (Abdullah al-Kuwari), Jouhan Benson, Mouhcine Iajour, Ali Qaderi, Mohsin al-Yazidi, Pezman Montazeri, Fred Dabtka, Mojtaba Jabbari
RESULT: 1-1
GOALS:
Meshaal Abdullah (70th, penalty) for Al-Ahli
Ali Asad (87th) for Al-Sadd
BOOKINGS:
Gaser Yahya (70th) for Al-Sadd
Jouhen Benson (74th), Amer al-Dosari (86th), Ali Qaderi (90th) for Al-Ahli
REFEREES
Khamees al-Kuwari (Main referee)
Mohammed Dharman (Linesman)
Khaled Ayed (Linesman)
Mohammed al-Shammari (Fourth official)
Khaled al-Sharif (Additional)
Mohammed al-Sayed (Additional)