Sport
Al Sadd give Muaither taste of things to come
Al Sadd give Muaither taste of things to come
Campos Jhasmani of Al Muaither (No 10) is challenged by Al Sadd player Nasser Nabeel Saad during their Sheikh Jassim Cup match at Gharafa stadium in Doha on Sunday.
By N.D. Prashant/Doha
The Qatar Football Federation’s decision to increase the number of participating clubs in the Qatar Stars League to 14 may have given Al Muaither Club a direct entry into the first division, but on Sunday they got a taste of the challenges that lay ahead of them. |
Lack of experience clearly came to the fore as Al Muaither, who shot into limelight by winning the Sheikh Jassim Cup in 2004, lost their opening match 1-2 to Al Sadd in the same tournament at the Al Gharafa Stadium.
Despite starting on a positive note, what let the new entrants down was the lack of finishing from their forwards. Nine minutes into play and Ayman Abd Mohamed tested the Al Sadd custodian Muhannad Naim Hussain with a long-ranger only to see it being well negotiated by the latter.
It was only after the first quarter of play that the Al Sadd players managed to get the rust out of their way and managed to get their combination right. The first purposeful move from Al Sadd came in the 24th minute and Nadir Belhaj unleashed a brilliant scissor-kick but found the Al Muaither goalkeeper Marwan Ahmed Saeed in his way.
Saeed’s keeping skills were once again put to the test within minutes. This time a long-ranger from Al Sadd forward Halal Mohamed Al-Saeed dipped in sharply but an alert Saeed did well to tip it over the crossbar.
Al Sadd finally managed to break the deadlock in the 37th minute through Messad Ali al-Hamad, who shot home from a well-crafted move by al-Saeed.
Al Muaither managed to draw parity soon after the change of ends. A clinical free-kick from Campos Jhasmani settled into the nylon threading leaving the Al Sadd custodian Hussain rooted to his spot Buoyed by the goal, Al Muaither forwards managed to split open the Al Sadd defence on a couple of occasions but failed to steal that vital lead.
Both Al Muaither forwards Saud Salem al-Ali and Mohamed jelled well but ran out of ideas once inside the penalty area and the opportunities went abegging.
The closest of chance for them came in the 65th minute when Mohamed found al-Ali lurking inside the box but the latter despite having the sole custodian Hussain to beat, shot over the framework.
Al Muaither were made to pay for the missed opportunity as Al Sadd managed to steal the match-winner in the 75th minute. An unmarked Saleh Badr Abdullah, after latching on to a measured through, found the goal with a neat placement.
Al Sadd will now take on Al Kharitiyath at Qatar Sports Club, while Al Muaither meet Al Khor at Al Ahil Stadium on Thursday.