QNB Stars League: Tabata scores on first start as Al-Sadd defeat Al-Duhail 1-0

8 August 2020

Al-Sadd continued their good run after the restart of the QNB Stars League with a third straight win, defeating Al-Duhail 1-0 in the Round 20 game which was played at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.

Rodrigo Tabata scored the lone goal of the game in the 24th minute. The result meant Al-Sadd’s tally increased to 41 points in the league table, where they occupy third position behind Al-Rayyan (45) and Al-Duhail (46) with two rounds to go.

After a period of calm early on, Al-Sadd managed to find their groove, increasing the pressure on the Duhail goal with a series of attacking moves.

The efforts paid off midway into the first half, when Tabata struck his first goal in his first start for Al-Sadd, after signing for the club late last month. Hassan Al-Haydos sent a powerful shot at goal from the edge of the box, which was parried by the Duhail keeper Mohammed Al Bakri to the path of Baghdad Bounedjah, and then Tabata, who made no mistake by finishing from close range.

Al-Sadd played with increased confidence after the goal and continued to create opportunities. Hashim Ali was particularly active on the right wing and fashioned a chance at the stroke of halftime as he got into the box after some good work, but the move was stopped by an offside call.

In the second half, the status quo remained the same despite efforts from both sides. Al-Haydos tried a shot from distance in the 58th minute, but the ball went out off a Duhail defender. At the other end, Ismaeel Mohammad sent in a cross from the right, and Mohammad Muntari headed it powerfully towards the goal but Saad Al-Dosari was in the right place to keep it out.

Xavi then made his first change of the game, bringing on Ahmed Sayyar to replace Hashim Ali. Sayyar went on to play in midfield alongside Jung Woo-young, while Al-Haydos moved to the right wing.

Further chances came and went for both sides but there would be no more goals. In the 88th minute, Edmilson almost equalised for Duhail, but his powerful effort from outside the box rattled the crossbar and went out.

Going into the last few minutes of the game, Xavi took off Al-Haydos, replacing him with Hossam Kamal, and then brought on Abdulaziz Al-Ansari to replace Nam Tae-hee as he focused on seeing the game out. That’s what happened, as the referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim went on to blow his whistle to signal another win for the Wolves.

MATCH DETAILS:

Al-Sadd x Al-Duhail (QNB Stars League Round 20)

Venue:

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Khoukhi Boualem, Tarek Salman, Pedro Miguel, Jung Woo-young, Hassan Al-Haydos (Hossam Kamal), Rodrigo Tabata, Baghdad Bounedjah, Abdelkarim Hassan, Nam Tae-hee (Abdulaziz Al-Ansari), Hashim Ali (Ahmed Sayyar)

Al-Duhail: Mohammed Al-Bakri, Medhi Benatia, Mohammed Musa, Sultan Al-Braik, Karim Boudifaf, Luiz Mairton (Abdulrahman Mohammed), Assim Madibo (Edmilson), Ismaeel Mohammad, Almoez Ali, Han Kwang-song (Ali Afif), Mohammed Muntari (Abdullah Al-Ahrak)

Result:

Al-Sadd won 1-0

Goals:

Rodrigo Tabata 24′

Bookings:

Assim Madibo 39′
Luiz Mairton 50′
Abdelkarim Hassan 52′
Mohammed Musa 64′

Referees:

Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Main referee)
Taleb Salem (Assistant 1)
Zahi Al-Shammari (Assistant 2)
Mohammed Ahmed (Fourth official)