Al Sadd players celebrate a goal against Al Kharaitiyat during their QSL match yesterday; (inset) Al Sadd coach Hussein Ammota. PICTURES: Othman Iraqi
There are some defeats which define a team. Either they let the burden of it reflect in their upcoming matches or they show the resilience to bounce back. For Al Sadd their loss to Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals was a huge blow. The players were deflated after that loss but they didn’t have time to brood over it as they were playing their Qatar Stars League opener against Al Kharaitiyat just three days later. And yesterday when the first half ended with Kharaitiyat a goal ahead and Sadd looking lacklustre out in the middle, it seemed that the loss had taken a lot out of the players. But then came a second half resurgence which showed why they have been one of the powerhouses of Qatar football. Sadd scored four goals in the second half to register a thumping 4-1 win over Kharaitiyat who simply couldn’t handle the shift in momentum.
On the eve of the match, Sadd coach Hussein Ammota had said that he had asked his players to focus on the game against Kharaitiyat and on the QSL. But that advice seemed to have gone unheard by his players in the first half. Sadd started the game on an attacking note but as early as in the 13th minute the home side got the lead through a defensive lapse. Kharaitiyat’s Domingos Dos Santos was left unmarked by the Sadd defence as the ball was crossed into the box and the Brazilian had all the time in the world to pick his spot and head the ball into the back of the net. Sadd goal keeper Saad al-Sheeb was seen venting his frustration at the defenders.
This goal instead of spurring the Sadd players into going on the attack, further deflated them and they were reduced to disjointed moves which led to nothing. The Kharaitiyat players sensed the hesitation and were able to mount constant attacks. It was only after the half an hour mark that the Sadd players started to come back into the game. In the 33rd minute, Abdelkarim Hassan took a shot from inside the box but his shot ricocheted off a Kharaitiyat defender and the ball lobbed to Hassan al-Haydos who was just a couple of yards in front of box. But with an open goal in front of him, the striker headed over the bar.
Sadd were on the move again in the 40th minute when Nadir Belhadj fired it in from the left flank only to see the Kharaitiyat goalkeeper Khalifa N’Diaye tip it onto the bar. Sadd got another chance six minutes later when Abdelkarim crossed the ball into the box to an unmarked Mohamed Kasola but the defender headed straight into the goalkeeper. The visitors were building up the momentum but couldn’t get the breakthrough in the first half.
Just three minutes into the start of the second half, Sadd found the equaliser through a great solo effort by al-Haydos. The striker got the ball at the edge of the box and then he dodged past two defenders and his left foot striker saw the ball go off the post into the goal.
This equaliser saw the wind coming back into the sails of Sadd. Their key players were able to show their superiority over a team that had barely managed to avoid relegation last season having finished twelfth.
In the 62nd minute, it was Sadd’s main striker Khalfan Ibrahim who gave his team the lead. Ibrahim shared a one-two with Rodrigo Tabata and then fired the ball under the Kharaitiyat keeper N’Diaye. With Sadd in the lead, the tone of the game changed completely. Suddenly the Kharaitiyat players were looking disorganised. The defence were restricted to clearing the balls as Sadd went on an all-out attack.
In the 82nd minute, it was another brilliant solo effort that brought about the third goal. Nadir Belhadj got the ball at the left flank. He then entered the box with the ball, dribbled to the middle past a defender and then fired in a curler into the far post. It was the best goal of the match.
The fourth goal came six minutes later when substitute Hamza Alsenhaji, who replaced Ibrahim, put through a great pass for Ibrahim Majed who easily slotted it in.
A 4-1 scoreline didn’t look likely after the proceedings in first half. But Sadd players showed their mettle and produced a great performance to start their QSL campaign with a thumping victory.