QNB Stars League: Al-Sadd return to winning ways with 2-1 defeat of Al-Ahli

Al-Sadd returned to winning ways in the QNB Stars League by defeating Al-Ahli 2-1 in their Round 8 game which was played on Saturday at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium.

Baghdad Bounedjah opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before adding a second goal in the 32nd minute from the penalty spot. Al-Ahli pulled a goal back in the 48th minute through Abel Hernandez.

The result means that Al-Sadd now have 15 points from 5 wins and a lone defeat. The Wolves have two games in hand against Al-Arabi and Al-Khor, which were delayed due to the team’s Asian commitments.

Al-Ahli thought they had scored early on when Hernandez had the ball in the net in the third minute, but the referee ruled the effort out for handball in the buildup, after consulting VAR.

In the 23rd minute, Al-Sadd took the lead. Bounedjah dribbled into the box from the left and scored with a powerful shot that went in past Ivanildo in the Al-Ahli goal.

Around ten minutes later, the Algerian striker scored again. This time, it was from the penalty spot after Akram Afif was brought down in the box by Ivanildo. Bounedjah stepped up to take the kick and made no mistake, giving Al-Sadd a 2-0 lead.

Al-Ahli’s reply came three minutes into the second half through Abel Hernandez, who was on hand to finish off a rebound after his initial effort was kept out by Saad Al-Dosari.

Al-Sadd head coach Xavi Hernandez made his first change in the 62nd minute bringing on Hamed Ismail in place of Salem Al-Hajri, before replacing Ali Asad with Abdulaziz Al-Ansari a few minutes later. Hamed took up the RB position, as Pedro moved to partner Khoukhi in the centre of the defence. Jung Woo-young shifted to midfield while Al-Ansari was brought on to improve the attack.

Despite the substitutions, Al-Sadd did not manage to score another goal. Hashim Ali also came on late on to replace Hassan Al-Haydos in another attacking change, but the match went on to end in a 2-1 win for Al-Sadd.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Al-Ahli (QNB Stars League Round 8)

Venue:

Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dodari, Pedro, Jung Woo-young, Tarek Salman, Ali Asad (Abdulaziz Al-Ansari), Hassan Al-Haydos (Hashim Ali), Baghdad Bounedjah, Gabi, Khoukhi Boualem, Salem Al-Hajri (Hamed Ismail), Akram Afif

Al-Ahli: Ivanildo, Shane Lowry, Mohammed Emad, Mohammed Al-Abbasi, Abel Hernandez, Nabeel El-Zhar, Hernan Perez, Nasser Khalfan (Salah Alawi), Jassim Omar (Abdulrasheeed Ibrahim), Mohammed Diame, Abdulrahman Mohammed

Result:

Al-Sadd won 2-1

Goals:

Baghdad Bounedjah 23′, 32′ (PEN)
Abel Hernandez 48′

Bookings:

Mohammed Emad 16′

Tarek Salman 65′

Referees:

Main referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim
Linesman: Taleb Salem
Linesman: Faisal Al-Yafei
Fourth official: Mohammed Ahmed