Amir Cup: Al-Sadd defeat Al-Wakrah on penalties to reach semifinals

Al-Sadd qualified for the semifinals of the Amir Cup, after defeating Al-Wakrah in a penalty shootout in their quarterfinal clash which was held at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on Friday evening. The Wolves prevailed 4-1 in the shootout, after a 2-2 draw in normal time.

Mexican attacker Marco Fabian put Al-Al-Sadd in the lead in the 43rd minute, after which Hashem Ali scored the second goal in the 55th minute. Al-Wakrah then reduced the deficit through substitute Khaled Muneer’s 66th minute strike, before Ismail Mahmoud managed to score the equaliser in the 83rd minute.

Akram Afif, Nam Tae-hee, Boualem Khoukhi and Marco Fabian all converted their spotkicks in the ensuing shootout, while Lucas Mendes and Ali Malallah missed their kicks for Al-Wakrah.

With this victory, Al-Sadd go through to the last four, where they await the winner of the last quarterfinal clash between Al-Duhail and Al-Sailiya, which will be held on Saturday.

Al-Sadd began the match on the front foot and threatened the Al-Wakrah goal early on, with youngsters Mohammed Waad and Hashim Ali both having a go. Khoukhi Boualem then had a powerful shot at goal in the 20th minute but Al-Wakrah keeper Saoud Al Khater kept it out with some difficulty, for a corner.

In the 27th minute, Al-Sadd thought they had gone ahead but their happiness was short-lived. Akram Afif won a penalty and then took the restultant kick, only to see his effort crash off the post. Hashim Ali finished off the rebound, but the referee disallowed the goal, having consulted VAR and adjudged the Al-Sadd players to have encroached into the box.

Eventually, Al-Sadd went in front and it was Marco Fabian who got the goal. Afif got into the box and had a go but his strike rebounded off the post, landing in front of Fabian, who made no mistake as he slammed the ball in to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.

After the halftime break, Al-Sadd went further ahead. In the 55th minute, Abdelkarim Hassan’s cross from the left was brought down in the box by Waad, and the move was completed by Hashim, whose unstoppable shot flew past Al-Khater to double Al-Sadd’s advantage.

Al-Wakrah then attempted a fightback and substitute Khaled Muneer succeeded in reducing the deficit in the 66th minute, capitalising on a mistake by Hamed Ismail before getting past Meshaal Barsham and scoring.

After that goal, Al-Wakrah kept pressing and their efforts paid off in the 83rd minute, as Ismail Mahmoud finished off a cross from Meshaal Abdullah on the left to level the scores.

That was how the game would finish in normal time, but Al-Sadd prevailed in the end, keeping their calm to win on penalties and advance to the semifinals.

Match Details

Al-Sadd x Al-Wakrah (Amir Cup 2020 quarter-finals)

Venue:

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium

Lineup:

Al-Sadd: Meshaal Barsham, Abdul Karim Hassan (Yasser Abu Bakr), Jung Woo-young, Mohamed Waed, Hamed Ismail, Gabi, Khoukhi Boualem, Nam Tae-hee , Hashem Ali (Baghdad Bounjah), Marco Fabian, Akram Afif

Al-Wakrah: Saoud Al-Khater, Lucas Mendes, Ali Malallah, Abdul Rahman Fakhroo (Khaled Muneer), Elias Belhasani (Meshaal Abdullah), Abdullah Hussein, Omar Ali, Ahmed Suhail, Riyad Nasser, Jassim Al-Hashemi (Abdulrahman Mohammed), Ismail Mahmoud

Result:

2-2 (Al-Sadd won 4-1 on penalties)

Goals:

Marco Fabian 43′
Hashem Ali 55′
Khaled Munir 66′
Ismail Mahmoud 83′

Bookings:

Riad Nasser 71′
Ali Malollah 80′
Abdul Rahman Mohammed 88′

Referees

Muhammad al-Shammari (main referee)
Talib Salem (assistant referee)
Khaled Ayed (assistant referee)
Muhammad Ahmad (fourth official)