Doha: A last-minute goal by Mohammed Kasola broke Umm Salal hearts yesterday as Al Sadd somehow managed to pull off a 2-0 victory in their fourth Qatar Satrs League (QSL) match at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium.
However, the Umm Salal side had nothing to be ashamed of as they put up a spirited performance against their more-fancied opponents.
Although all three goals came in the second half, Umm Salal were clearly the better side after the break. But, against the run of play, Lee Jung-Soo headed home from a free kick by Nadir Belhadj to give Al Sadd the lead in the 80th minute.
The Umm Salal players, however, didn’t lose heart and kept coming. Jeddo, who came on as a substitute in the 58th minute, and Ismail Mousa caused all sorts of problems for Al Sadd.
Their persistence paid off in the 89th minute when Tuncay Sanli headed in the equaliser from a beautiful pass.
Two minutes later, Ahmed Fathy had a golden opportunity to seal the game from Umm Salal when Sanli floated in a beautiful pass in front of a clear Al Sadd goal. But an onrushing Fathy sent the ball sailing over the crossbar.
The miss would prove costly for Umm Salal who conceded a free kick outside their penalty box two minutes later. Nadir floated in the free kick and Kasola headed in the winner in the dying moments of the game to hand Umm Salal a cruel defeat.
If Umm Salal were the more attractive side in the second half, the first half belonged to Al Sadd.
In fact, the “Wolves” should have had the lead four minutes into the match after Hasan Ali Hydos headed in a goal from a free kick which was controversially ruled offside. Al Sadd dominated the game early on and Hydos also had claims for a penalty ruled down in the 41st minute.
Umm Salal’s only chance in the first half came in the 43rd minute when Ismail’s cross found captain Fabio Cesar who only managed to rattle the crossbar.
In the other game at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar SC brushed aside newly-promoted side Al Shahaniya 4-0 with both Khalid Mahmoudi and Hamdi Harbaoui scoring a brace of goals.
At the Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Nene’s solitary goal gave Al Gharafa the win against Al Ahli and Al Wakra defeated Al Kharaitiyat 2-0 in yesterday’s final fourth round encounter.
Today, Al Sailiya will take on Al Khor at their home ground.
Al Sailiya currently lie in last place and Al Khor are just above them in 13th with just one point.
Al Sailiya’s coach Sami Trabelsi said he felt his team needed a win to get back their confidence.
“We need success once again to bring back some confidence and also we cannot afford to make a lot of mistakes. I think it still very early to panic and I think soon we will see the real team that I know and see in the training ground. Maybe after the eighth or ninth round we can make a better assessment.”
Al Khor coach Laszlo Boloni said: “ I have spoken to my players about concentration and avoiding individual mistakes. We know that Sailiya is now considered a big team and we are trying our best to get back to winning ways ourselves.”THE PENINSULA
