Al-Sadd drop 2 points after draw with Al-Gharafa
Al-Sadd drop 2 points after draw with Al-Gharafa
07 Mar 2016
Al-Sadd lost two valuable points after only drawing 1-1 with Al-Gharafa in the Qatar Stars League Round 21 match held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Monday. The draw meant that Al-Sadd kept their hold on fourth place with 36 points.
Although the Wolves took the lead in the 16th minute through a great strike from Meshaal Al-Shammari, Al-Gharafa were able to equalize with Vladimir Weiss scoring in the 20th minute.
Strong but cautious start from both teams
The two started the match brightly but not without a bit of caution. Al-Sadd attacked the Gharafa goal early on and were met by resolute defending. In the 5th minute, Hassan Al-Haydos sent a poweful shot at goal but the ball was deflected out for a corner. At the other end, Thamer Jamal managed to penetrate through the right wing and send in a cross but the Al-Sadd defence was on hand to clear the danger.
Meshaal gives Al-Sadd the lead, Weiss equalizes
It was Al-Sadd who got the first goal of the match. In the 16th minute, Meshaal picked up an aerial pass from Nadir Belhadj and lashed in a powerful shot past Abdulaziz Ali in the Gharafa goal. The lead only lasted for four minutes though, as Weiss took advantage of a mistake from Al-Sadd defender Morteza Pouraliganji. The Slovakian raced through and finished to the left of Saad Al-Dosari to make
Al-Sadd go in search of a goal, Abdelkarim hits the cross
Al-Sadd kept up their efforts to score a second goal throughout the remaining minutes. Al-Haydos had a great chance in the 28th minute, attempting a powerful shot which was kept out by Abdulaziz Ali. On 38 minutes, Abdelkarim Hassan almost regained the lead for Al-Sadd when his header grazed the crossbar and went out. After four minutes of additional time, the referee brought the half to an end with the sides at a 1-1 stalemate.
Muhannad replaces Saad in the second half
With the start of the second half, Al-Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al-Dosari was replaced by Muhannad Naim after an injury problem. The Wolves kept up the pressure putting numbers in attack, with Al-Haydos, Belhadj and Musab providing width and Hamza Al-Sanhaji, Xavi and Meshaal breaking through in the centre. In the 57th minute, the Spanish maestro Xavi played a long through ball to Hamza but the Gharafa keeper Ali was there at the right time to pounce on it.
Baghdad makes his debut
In the 65th minute, Al-Sadd made their second change of the game, bringing on Baghdad Bounedjah who made his debut for Al-Sadd. The Algerian replaced goalscorer Meshaal Al-Shammari. After a period of dominance for Al-Gharafa, Al-Sadd started to put pressure on their opponents again and in the 73rd minute, Belhadj played a great cross in the direction of Bounedjah. However, the striker was unable to deal with it properly.
Al-Sadd keep trying, match ends in a draw
The Saddawi attempts to snatch a win went on until the end with Bounedjah taking a shot that went out off Abdulaziz Ali in the 82nd minute. The Wolves went on to look for a goal but to no avail. The referee blew his whistle after 3 minutes of additional time and both teams shared the spoils after the 1-1 stalemate.
MATCH DETAILS
Al-Sadd x Al-Gharafa – Qatar Stars League Round 21
VENUE: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al-Sadd SC
LINEUPS:
Al Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari (Muhannad Naim), Morteza Pouraliganji, Abdelkarim Hassan, Musab Khodr, Nadir Belhadj, Xavi, Mohammed Kasola, Salem Al-Hajri, Hassan Al-Haydos, Meshaal Al-Shammari (Baghdad Bounedjah), Hamza Al-Sanhaji
Al-Gharafa: Abdulaziz Ali, Lawrence Quaye, Abdulaziz Hatem, Krizstian Nemeth, Vladimir Weiss (Johnson Kendrick), Thamer Jamal, George Kwossi, Anderson Vieira, Abdulrahman Fayez, Hussain Shehab (Mohammed Razaq), Masoud Shojaei
RESULT: 1-1 draw
GOALS:
Meshaal Al-Shammari (16th) for Al-Sadd
Vladimir Weiss (20th) for Al-Gharafa
BOOKINGS
Abdelkarim Hassan (80th) and Morteza Pouraligani (88th) for Al-Sadd
George Kwossi (45th) for Al-Gharafa
REFEREES:
Salman Falahi (Main referee)
Jumuah Burashid (Linesman)
Yousef Al-Shammari (Linesman)
Saoud Al-Athba (Forth official)
Khaled Al-Sharif (First additional)
Sayyid Shareef (Second addition)