A stoppage-time goal from Igor Jesus for UAE’s Shabab Al Ahli saw the hosts score a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Qatar’s Al Duhail to claim the inaugural Qatar-UAE Super Shield at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Saturday.Igor made a header off a long Yahya al-Ghassani free-kick in the 90+3 minute, after four minutes were added to the game, to dampen Al Duhail’s hopes. Earlier Luka Milivojevic had also made a successful header to fetch the equaliser in the 55th minute after Al Duhail had gone up the lead in the opening half (36th minute) with a telling strike from Philippe Coutinho.The thrilling contest played in a lively atmosphere with the presence of a large number of fans and saw fortunes swing in phases with either of the sides holding sway. After the hosts made some early attempts, Al Duhail gained ground and rattled Shabab Al Ahli with a quick-action goal as Philippe Coutinho cashed on a golden pass from Almoez Ali from the right as he ploughed in a powerful kick from about 10 yards from outside of the box into the top left corner of the net.The hosts had begun on a charging note with a Munas Dabbur header just going wide of the post on the left in the 6th minute of the match. Another of Shahab Al Ahli’s big move had come in the 27th minute when Guilherme Da Silva picked on a Dabbur pass to size up a strike but kicked well over the bar.Very next minute, Shabab Al Ahli had a good chance as Dabbur made a fine lob from the right but an alert Al Duhail goalkeeper Shehab Mamdouh timed his jump to punch the ball away. Al Duhail also displayed some tight passing through the opening half.The start of the second half saw Al Duhail’s substitute Tashin Jamshid make a strike but it was saved by Shabab Ali goalkeeper Adel Fadaq. Soon, the home side won a free kick which Bader Nasser took superbly from a long distance and tall Serbian Milivojevic made the header to see the scores levelled. A tussle ensued with both sides trying harder for another goal.In the 66th minute, Al Duhail’s Youssef Ayman bicycle attempted a fine bicycle kick but the ball flew over the crossbar. Later in the 76th minute, Almoez Ali and Coutinho tried to breach the rival defence but their chances too were foiled.With both teams holding on tight, a shootout seemed on cards but in the added time Igor made the most of the free kick as he dipped in to make a header from close to the goal to send the fans into raptures.The two heavyweight teams competed for the maiden Qatar-UAE Super Shield title with Al Duhail being last season’s Qatar Stars League champions and Shabab Al Ahli, the UAE League winners.
April 13, 2024 | 11:43 PM