​Al-Sadd registered a crucial and deserved 1-0 victory over Al-Kharaitiyat in a Qatar Stars League Round 22 match played at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday. The lone strike came from Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah in the 80th minute, who thus scored his first ever goal for the team.

The win meant that Al-Sadd kept its hold on fourth place in the league standings with 39 points.

Cautious start

Both sides went into this important match displaying a bit of caution and a period of testing the water ensued for the first quarter of an hour, with no real danger at either end. The first proper efforts came from Al-Sadd but the Al-Kharaitiyat defence stood firm. Jordanian forward Hassan Abdel Fattah had a go at goal in the 11th minute but the Kharaitiyat man saw his powerful shot fly wide of the goal.

Al-Sadd attempts to take the lead

The Wolves had a number of attempts to make their mark in the first half but the organized defence of Kharaitiyat prevented them from scoring. On 27 minutes, Nadir Belhadj dribbled down the left wing, getting past a number of players before playing a cross into the box. The ball was met by Khalfan Ibrahim volley which went high over the crossbar. Al-Kharaitiyat gave their reply minutes later after Issiar Dia penetrated through the right wing and played a dangerous ball across to Yahia Kebe but Al-Sadd defender Musab Khodr was on hand to clear the danger.

Teams cancel each other out until halftime

The stalemate continued throughout the rest of the half and both teams cancelled each other out with increased numbers in the midfield and the play was limited to a small area of the pitch. The referee signalled one minute of additional time before blowing his whistle for halftime with no goals scored yet.

Baghdad replaces Gaser in the second half

Al-Sadd made their first change of the match when Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah replaced Gaser Yahya at the beginning of the second half. On 53 minutes, Hassan Al-Haydos sent a powerful shot from outside the penalty box which went just over the crossbar. In the 66th minute, Jesualdo Ferreira brought on Nasser Ibrahim in place of Meshaal Al-Shammari.

Al-Kharaitiyat becomes active in attack; Al-Sadd keep up pressure

The Al-Sadd offensive pressure continued with the introduction of Nasser Ibrahim but this was met by Al-Kharaitiyat also becoming active in search of a goal through the trio of Kebe, Dia and Abdel Fattah. Al-Haydos had a good opportunity to score for Al-Sadd on 75 minutes but his shot was kept out by Kharaitiyat keeper Ahmed Sufyan before the ball was cleared by the defence for a corner.

Baghdad gives Al-Sadd the lead

In the 80th minute, Al-Sadd finally took the lead after a cross from the left from Xavi was headed in by Bounedjah. The debut goal gave Al-Sadd the narrow lead going into the final ten minutes of the match, when Al-Kharaitiyat stepped up their attempts to score. However, no more goals came and the referee blew his whistle at full time giving Al-Sadd a 1-0 win.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Al-Kharaitiyat (Qatar Stars League Round 22)

VENUE:

Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium

LINEUPS:

Al-Sadd: Muhannad Naim, Mohammed Kasola, Pedro, Nadir Belhadj, Musab Khodr, Xavi, Salem Al-Hajri, Gaser Yahya (Baghdad Bounedjah), Khalfan Ibrahim (Hamad Mansour), Meshaal Al-Shammari (Nasser Ibrahim), Hassan Al-Haydos

Al-Kharaitiyat: Ahmed Sufyan, Yahia Kebe, Domingos Santos, Mohammed Abdulrahman, Hassan Abdel Fattah, Vivian Kwasi, Mohammed Salam, Mohammed Abdulrab (Waleed Jassim), Mahmoud Saad, Ahmed Hussain, Issiar Dia

RESULT:

Al-Sadd won 1-0

GOALS:

Baghdad Bounedjah (80th) for Al-Sadd

BOOKINGS:

Mohammed Abdulrab (7th)

Salem Al-Hajri (18th)

Meshaal Al-Shammari (65th)

Domingos Santos (90th)

REFEREES:

Saoud Al-Athba (Main referee)

Saoud Ahmed (Linesman)

Majid Al-Shammari (Linesman)

Mohammed Al-Shammari (Fourth official)

Hussain Shuwaykh (First additional)

Sayed Shareef (Second additional)