Sadd enter semis high on confidence

By Sahan Bidappa/Doha

At the Qatar Sports Handball Complex, Al Sadd brushed aside the challenge of Sydney University in the final preliminary Group B match 32-23 for a place in the last four, joining compatriots El Jaish. This is the first time in the history of the Super Globe championship that two Qatari clubs have made it to the semi-finals in the same year.

Al Sadd, which won the Super Globe in 2002 and finished runner-up in 2010, have fallen down the ladder in recent times. But yesterday, they showed signs of revival with a clinical display against Sydney.

However, it was their victory on Monday in the second group match against African champions Esperance Tunis that had paved their way into the semis. After Tunis lost to group toppers Barcelona earlier yesterday, Al Sadd had to just get past Sydney, the weakest team in the competition, in their final match.

Al Sadd’s coach Mongi Bannani was delighted with having achieved the first objective of qualifying for the semi-finals, where they will face European Champions SG Flensburg-Handewitt. “We were determined and disciplined today. I am satisfied with the way the team played and their professional approach. We have achieved our first goal and now we have to be at our best against Flensburg,” Bannaini said.

The hosts started on an aggressive note storming into a 9-3 lead. And throughout the game, Al Sadd kept a minimum of four to five goal advantage, which calmed the nerves of their drum-beating vocal supporters. The celebration began at half-time itself as the five-time Asian Club champions went into the break at 18-13.

The lead only got bigger post-interval as Sadd never let their guard down. Though Sydney resisted briefly, Al Sadd ran away with the match despite using many substitutes in the closing stages.

Tunisian Amine Bannour, who had scored an incredible 14 goals in their thrilling win against Tunis, was again at the forefront in Al Sadd’s victory. The right-back contributed five goals against Sydney and he was backed by his teammates as well.

Husain Alsayyad and Mario Tomic scored four goals each, while Ali Sid Kenaoui, Abdulaziz Alshammari, Kevic Janko and Jaafar Salman found the net three times apiece. For Sydney, Bjorn Jacob Hessellund top-scored with six goals.

Sydney coach Phillipp Enders blamed the loss on the poor start and hoped his team will be put on a better display in the placement matches. “We didn’t start well. The first ten minutes were a disaster, probably the worst I have seen. We got better as the game went on and competed with Al Sadd. But we could have done better,” Enders said.