Al-Sadd registers a valuable 2-1 win over a stubborn Al-Ahli
Al-Sadd registers a valuable 2-1 win over a stubborn Al-Ahli
01 Oct 2015
Al-Sadd registered a valuable 2-1 win over Al-Ahli in a Round 4 match of the Qatar Stars League, played at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium of Al-Ahli Club on Thursday. With this win, Al-Sadd increased its tally to 10 points from four matches, which included three wins and a draw.
The match began with Al-Sadd playing excellently and it did not take long for the team to take the lead. In the 4th minute, captain Xavi Hernandez finished off a Hassan al-Haydos pass, scoring the first goal of the match and his second goal for the club. Al-Sadd continued to put pressure on the Ahli backline with Khalfan Ibrahim almost adding a second goal in the 9th minute but his shot went wide of the right post.
Despite the dominance of Al-Sadd, Al-Ahli had a couple of chances of its own and in one such move in the 36th minute, Kabangu sent a fierce shot from outside the box which Saad al-Sheeb did well to save.
After the restart, Al-Sadd kept up the pressure, and two minutes into the half, Hassan al-Haydos penetrated from the right and sent a cross but no one was on hand to finish it. Khalfan then had another chance but his attempt went over the bar.
In the 53rd minute, Al-Ahli capitalized on a mistake by Al-Sadd defender Lee Jung Soo to equalize. Firmin Mubele latched on to the ball when Lee lost it and put it past Saad to level the score. Al-Sadd almost responded immediately but Ali Asad could not finish off a rebound after a shot from Xavi.
Al-Sadd made its first change in the 74th minute when Nasser Ibrahim came on in place of Khalfan Ibrahim in order to bring some fresh legs into the attack. The substitute sent a fine curling effort from outside the box but Ahli keeper Amer al-Dosari saved it easily. A few minutes later, Hassan al-Haydos got the second goal for Al-Sadd and his first of the season after conncecting well with a cross from Abdulkarim Hassan. It would prove to be the winner and Al-Sadd collected the three points.
MATCH DETAILS
Al-Ahli v Al-Sadd (Round 4 of the Qatar Stars League)
Venue: Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium at Al-Ahli Club
Al-Sadd lineup: Saad al-Dosari, Abdulkarim Hassan, Lee Jung Soo, Mohammed Kasola, Nadir Belhadj, Talal al-Baloushi, Xavi, Ali Asad (Gaser Yahya), Khalfan Ibrahim (Nasser Ibrahim), Hassan al-Haydos, Muriqui.
Al-Ahli lineup: Amer al-Dosari, Meshaal Abdulla (John Benson), Abdulrahman Musabah, Abdulla Ayesh (Mohammed Hassan), Ali Qadri, Firmin Mubele, Mulatu Kabangu (Saoud al-Khalaqi), Pedro Miguel, Pejman Montazeri, Younes Ali, Mujtaba Jabbari.
Score: Al-Ahli 1 (53* Mubele) – 2 Al-Sadd (Xavi 4*, 84*)
Bookings: Nasser Ibrahim 90*
Referees:
Damir Skomina (Main referee)
Jure Praprotnik (Linesman)
Robert Vukan (Linesman)
Saoud al-Athba (Fourth official)
Mohammed Medhat (First additional referee)
Hussein Ahmed (Second additional referee)