Sadd ease past Markhiya to enter Amir Cup quarters

Al Sadd cruised past Al Markhiya 4-0 to book their spot in the Amir Cup quarter-finals at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday. The Wolves, who have won the prestigious title record 18 times, will face Al Sailiya in the last eight. Sailiya had earlier edged past Al Rayyan 2-1 in the other last 16 game yesterday.
Sadd took lead in the 11th minute after Baghdad Bounedjah was quick to latch on to rebound off Al Markhiya goalkeeper Loukay Sherif, who had initially palmed away Akram Afif’s shot. They went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute as Ali Asad beat Sherif with a low shot. Former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla added a third in 62nd minute, with Ayoub El Kaabi completing a clinical win after he converted a penalty in stoppage time.
Al Sadd coach Juan Manuel Lillo was pleased with his side’s clinical victory. “It was not an easy match as the score suggests, Al Markhiya did not give us much space to attack. But we performed well and achieved what we wanted from the match and qualified for the quarter-finals,” the Spaniard said.
“This victory will us boost our morale before facing Al Duhail next in the QNB Stars league. We played with many young players today and they appeared at a good level. We rested many of our key players in the second half,” he added.
On Sadd’s next opponent Umm Salal in the Amir Cup quarters, Lillo said: “Umm Salal will be a tough opponent. The Amir Cup championship is different from the league, and our focus now is on facing Duhail on Sunday.”
Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb said: “A 4-0 win is a great way to start the important Amir Cup tournament and we are happy with the result. Overall, we played well but we could have presented a better performance. Our aim is to win this prestigious tournament again to make our fans happy,” he added.
Earlier, substitute Mehrdad Mohammadi scored winner in 79th minute as Al Sailiya entered the quarter-finals at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium. Al Sailiya, who are bottom of the QNB Stars League (QSL), had gone ahead after Carlos Strandberg scored in the ninth minute. Yohan Boli equalised for Rayyan in the 26th minute, but substitute Mohammadi made the difference.
On Monday, Umm Salal beat Al Khor 1-0 in to reach quarters thanks to a late strike from Yassin Bakhit. In another match, Al Duhail had edged past Al Kharaitiyat 1-0 after the game’s only goal was scored by Ismail Mohamed in the 12th minute.