Doha: A spectacular goal by Hassan Al Haydous helped Al Sadd register a fighting 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Round 4 match of the Qatar Stars League here yesterday.
In other matches, Al Jaish and Al Gharafa both picked up full points.
The match, the first in over five years at the newly refurbished Al Ahli stadium saw the exciting affair capped by Al Haydous’ audacious volley.
Sadd got an early goal in the 4th minute through their talisman Xavi. It was a great team effort which started with defender Abdel Karim Hassan delivering a long cross from deep to Al Haydous on the right flank.
The Sadd winger collected the ball and then delivered a great through ball to an unmarked Xavi who had no problem slotting it into the far corner of the net first time.
This goal helped Sadd seize the initiative as they controlled the midfield.
In the second half too Sadd looked composed and were able to thwart the sporadic attacks that the Ahli offense was able to conjure.
Then in the 52nd minute a huge blunder from Sadd defender Lee helped Ahli get back into the game. The Korean stumbled on the edge of the box while attempting a clearance and new Brigadiers signing Ndombe Mubele was there to capitalize on the opportunity, scoring the equaliser.
He could have doubled his tally in the 70th minute. Lee was again the culprit this time as he failed to track Mubele’s movement inside the box but the Congolese striker’s shot went over the bar from short range.
Then the highlight of the match came when in the 83rd minute Abdel Karim provided a diagonal cross into the box and Al Haydous volleyed the ball into the net to take all three points for the visitors.
Ahli keeper Dosari got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. With this goal the Qatari winger opened his tally for the season and kept the Wolves in the running as they sit near the top of the table with this win.
Although the Brigadiers were hoping to send their fans home happy after the re-opening of their stadium with a win, it was not to be as Al Sadd took care of business with clinical finishing as usual.
Elsewhere, a clinical display from El Jaish saw them clinch victory over Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 away.
Both Jaish and Kharaitiyat had something to prove when they faced each other today. Jaish needed to get back to winning ways having managed two draws in their three matches. Kharaitiyat, on the other hand, had to show that their humiliating 7-0 loss to Lekhwiya was a one-off.
It was Jaish who burst out of the blocks. In the sixth minute, Kharaitiyat defender Domingos Santos failed to clear his lines as the ball fell kindly to Romarinho and the Brazilian fired in an unstoppable strike into the top right corner of the net to give his team the lead. Such was the power of the shot that Kharaitiyat keeper Ahmed Sufiyan, at full stretch, could not get his hand to it in time.
Jaish were looking dominant and were more threatening but then Yasir Abu-Bakr Isa became the culprit as he conceded a foul inside the box and the referee had no choice as he pointed to the spot. Al Kharaitiyat’s Yahia Kebe stepped up to take the shot and calmly converted it to help the Thunders get back on level terms.
Kharaitiyat might not always have the most potent attack or flair but under Head Coach Amar Osim they have gotten a name for themselves as a hardworking and organised unit. This was more visible today as they looked to put the 7-0 thrashing behind them.
Osim had said during the pre-match press conference that he wanted his team to play a “normal game”. And the gritty Kharaitiyat of last season was on display against Jaish as they made life tough for the visitors with a prolonged period of sustained pressure.
However Sabri Lamouchi’s men were patient and waited for their moment to arrive and it did in the 62nd minute. The ball was crossed into the box from a corner and the unmarked Abderrazak Hamdallah headed it in comfortably. The Kharaitiyat defence was caught napping this time around.
Kharaitiyat will be happy with this performance but Jaish were simply better and deserved the three points overall.
Meanwhile, the Al Gharafa and Al Arabi clash turned out to be a touch and go affair as Al Gharafa held on to the one-goal lead.
The opening exchanges saw tactics go out the window as both sides were looking to attack, the game was open right from the off.
In the 18th minute Yassine Chikhaoui was fouled on the right side of the edge of the box, Abdulaziz Abdulla did well to work the keeper from distance with a low drilled effort but the keeper just go a hand to it.
Both sides were making a high number of unforced errors and neither side could dominate the possession as the ball pinged around the midfield continuously. This carefree approach to the game would prove especially costly for Arabi when in the 37th minute Ashkan made a lazy pass that was intercepted by Lawrence Quay.
The Gharafa midfielder then went on a marauding run down the middle and as he did he drew more Arabi players towards him, then he played a great through ball to the unmarked Hassan Moayad who did well to finish from a tight angle.
Arabi pressured as half time neared but didn’t manage to even work the keeper with few shots on target.
In the second half it took until the 66th minute for the Reds to get their first good chance of the game. Ashkan, who was looking to make up for his earlier mistake, stepped up when Arabi was awarded a freekick in a dangerous area to the left of the box.
The Iranian was made to wait due to ongoing shenanigans in the box but eventually the ref blew the whistle and he struck the cross bar with a powerful curling shot. A minute later Gharafa could have made it two as Chikhaoui received the ball on the edge of the box, the Gharafa forward was unmarked and had time to turn before releasing a shot which unfortunately for the Cheetahs went straight at the keeper. In the 70th minute Arabi had another decent chance to equalise, again Ashkan was involved when this time, the Iranian latched onto a great cross from the left, he stretched and just got a toe on it but ball just went wide as the keeper looked on.
Gharafa were under intense pressure in the final stages and where looking particularly frail but somehow they held on for all three points in a truly entertaining encounter.
The Peninsula
