Al-Sadd draw 1-1 with El-Jaish; lose top spot

Ten-man Al-Sadd could only manage a 1-1 draw with El-Jaish in the QSL Round 13 match played at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Thursday night. The result meant that the Wolves dropped to second place in the league table with 31 points, losing top spot to Lekhwiya after the end of the 13th and final round of the first phase.

Hassan Al-Haydos opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute before Sardor Rashidov equalized for El-Jaish in the 43rd minute. Al-Sadd played with ten men after the 65th minute, when Morteza Pouraliganji was sent off.

Cautious start

The match began with both sides showing a bit of caution. Neither team allowed the other any space to be able to control the proceedings. Al-Sadd’s first chance came in the 15th minute when Baghdad Bounedjah attempted a shot at goal from outside the box but the ball went wide of the right post.

Al-Haydos gives Al-Sadd the lead

In the 32nd minute, Al-Sadd were awarded a penalty after Bounedjah was brought down in the box by El-Jaish keeper Saoud Al-Khater. Al-Haydos stepped up to convert from the spot and give Al-Sadd a 1-0 lead. A couple of minutes later, Xavi dribbled past the defence and tried a shot at goal but Al-Khater kept it out for a corner.

Rashidov equalizes for El-Jaish

The clock ticked towards the end of the first half with Al-Sadd looking to score another goal. El-Jaish, on the other hand, were cautious in the defence while also depending on counterattacks through the duo of Rashidov and Romarinho. In the 43rd minute, Rashidov equalized for El-Jaish after picking up a pass from Yasser Abubakr and finishing past Al-Dosari. The referee then went on to whistle for halftime with the score at 1-1.

Hamed and Khalfan come on

Al-Sadd made their first substitution of the match at the start of the second half, bringing on Hamed Ismail in place of Hussam Kamal. Hamed went on to take his place at the right back position to support the attack. In the 54th minute, Rashidov tried a shot from outside the box but Al-Dosari kept it out for a corner. Al-Sadd then made their second change, bringing on Khalfan Ibrahim in place of Ali Asad.

Pouraliganji is sent off

Al-Sadd kept up their efforts to score another goal but were dealt a blow in the 65th minute when they were reduced to 10 men after Pouraliganji was sent off. The Iranian was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Romarinho.

Hamroun comes on to support the attack

In the 71st minute, Hassan Al-Haydos was replaced by Jugurtha Hamroun, who was returning to action after recovering from injury. Both teams tried to break the deadlock with El-Jaish’s Ahmed Moein coming close in the 74th minute, shooting from just outside the box only for Al-Dosari to keep it out with a great save. Neither side was able to muster any real goalscoring opportunity after that and the referee then went on to signal for 4 minutes of additional time before blowing the whistle for full time.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x El-Jaish (QSL Round 13)

Venue:

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Ibrahim Majid, Morteza Pouraliganji, Pedro, Hussam Kamal (Hamed Ismail), Mohammed Kasola, Salem Al-Hajri, Xavi, Ali Asad (Khalfan Ibrahim), Hassan Al-Haydos (Jugurtha Hamroun), Baghdad Bounedjah

El-Jaish: Saoud Al-Khater, Murad Naji, Lucas Mendes, Mohammed Al-Jabri, Yasser Abubakr, Sardor Rashidov, Mohammed Mathnani (Hamza Al-Sanhaji), Mohammed Abdulrab, Ali Sanad (Jassim Al-Hashmi), Ahmed Moein, Romarinho

Result:

1-1 draw

Goals:

Hassan Al-Haydos (P) 32′

Rashidov 43′

Bookings:

Mohammed Mathnani 5′
Ali Asad 23′
Morteza Pouraliganji 27′ & 65′ (Red card)
Saoud Al-Khater 31′
Yousef Muftah 32′
Hamed Ismail 82′
Jugurtha Hamroun 90′
Pedro 92′

Referees:

Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Main referee)
Taleb Salem (Linesman)
Saoud Ahmed (Linesman)
Abdulaziz Al-Shammari (Fourth official)
Saoud Al-Athba (Additional)
Mohammed Al-Shammari (Additional)