Doha: Al Sadd’s winning streak in the Qatar Stars League (QSL) this season came to an end yesterday as Al Arabi held the “Wolves” to a hard-fought 1-1 at their home ground but last season’s champions Lekhwiya maintained their 100 percent record by defeating Al Shamal 2-0.
The derby between Al Arabi and Al Sadd was a physical affair right from the start. Both teams’ strength lay in their attack and although Al Sadd dominated possession early on, their defence looked jittery every time Al Arabi played the ball forward towards their striker Imoh Ezekiel.
Al Sadd, who are usually accustomed to teams just defending against them, looked uncomfortable whenever Al Arabi opened up and played more aggressively. But, unfortunately, they didn’t do this often enough.
A bizarre incident occurred in the 25th minute when a long ball found Ezekiel, who managed to break free from two defenders. He was threateningly surging forward when the referee suddenly blew the whistle for a water break. The call left the Al Arabi players and coach Dan Petrescu dumbfounded.
A brilliant effort by Aden Ali Aden gave Al Arabi the lead in the 36th minute. After dribbling past the Al Sadd defenders, Aden’s shot ricocheted off
goalkeeper Saad Abdulla Aldosari’s hand and into the back of the net.
Al Sadd came back in the 44th minute through Abdel Karim Hassan who had no trouble heading in a goal from a cross after being left unmarked near the back-post.
“The Wolves” played fast flowing one-touch football in the first five minutes after the restart, which led to a majestic curling effort from Sadd’s new all-time leading goal scorer Khalfan but Rajab Hamza managed to get a hand to it and turn the ball past the post.
After the 65th minute, the game started to open up as both sides had chances to attack.
After the match Al Sadd coach Hussain Amute said, “We controlled the majority of the play and I am happy with my team’s performance. I was surprised when Arabi scored first because the goal went against the run of play but that’s football.”
Al Arabi coach Dan Petrescu said, “Overall I was proud of my players, especially against such a tough opponent. Al Sadd didn’t give us many chances but we did well.”
Meanwhile, Lekhwiya maintained their perfect start with an easy 2-0 victory over Al Shamal. It could have easily been 3-0 had Y. Msakni not missed a penalty in the dying stages of the first half.
THE PENINSULA
