Aspire Academy showed genuine promise in coasting to victory over Shanghai Greenland in the second game in Al Kass International Cup 2016 on Saturday.
The Chinese youngsters had been given just over 24 hours to recover from their morale-sapping seven-goal humiliation at the hands of Inter Milan the previous day. And, within two minutes of the kick-off, Shanghai were behind again. Andri Syahputra waltzed through a lethargic defence before smashing a fine effort into the roof of the net from the edge of the area to put Aspire one up.
Two minutes later the Academy should have had a penalty after Shanghai captain Lian Ming Lin hauled back Abdulla Almurisi inside the area, but referee Mohammed Shabir was unsighted and play was allowed to continue. Almost immediately, the home side had the ball in the net once again, only for Abdulrasheed Ibrahim’s header to be correctly ruled offside.
Shanghai had been unable to manage a single shot on target against Inter, and in the early stages they were similarly unconvincing, with Aspire completely dominant. They should have scored a second after 17 minutes, but Ibrahim had once again strayed narrowly offside before tapping into an open goal.
It was clear that the Chinese defence was struggling to contain the Aspire number seven, and Ibrahim fired the Academy further ahead on 24 minutes, latching on to a through ball from captain Nasser Alarhak before producing a composed finish that gave keeper Kai Yuan Lin no chance.
Two minutes later a fine run down the right from Khaled Mansour found Ibrahim free six yards out, but the busy forward miskicked over the bar when he would have expected to score. The chance was just one of several that Aspire created in the opening stages as the limited Chinese side showed little defensive resolve and limited attacking prowess. Indeed, with sharper finishing the Academy boys could have been at least five goals ahead within the opening half hour.
With 35 minutes on the clock –125 minutes into their Al Kass playing experience - Shanghai Greenland finally managed their first shot on target, but it was smartly saved by the otherwise unoccupied keeper Marwan El Din.
Aspire immediately counter-attacked, and the effervescent Ibrahim ran clear on goal before rounding the keeper and finishing from a tight angle to make the score 3-0.
The Aspire youngsters had established a commanding lead, but fleetingly let their discipline slip moments later, and paid the price. Centre back Abdul Nizha was robbed just outside his own area by the industrious Luo Fan Liu, and the tall midfielder kept his composure to shoot low past keeper El Din. Liu had been Shanghai’s best player throughout the tournament thus far, and the goal was a deserved reward for his perseverance.
However, any hopes that the Chinese may have held of forcing their way back into the game were dashed almost instantly, as the three-goal margin was soon restored. Ahmed al-Minhali advanced towards the opposition area before exchanging a one-two with Almurisi and finishing first time, to put the locals 4-1 up.
With the result already beyond doubt, the second half began at a slower place. Aspire were fully in control, and content to stroke the roll around and work patiently to create goalscoring opportunities.
But on the hour mark it was Shanghai who came close to scoring. Once again, it was Liu who made the chance through a strong run down the right channel, only for his low cross-shot to drift agonisingly wide of the far post.
The Chinese side showed admirable tenacity in continuing to compete well against superior opposition, and they managed to keep Aspire at bay for much of the second half through some determined defending. On 70 minutes Almurisi was played in through the middle by Alahrak, but his effort was well saved by keeper Lin, who stood up strong and deflected the shot behind.
It seemed as though a fifth goal for Aspire was inevitable, however, and it duly arrived on 78 minutes when substitute Yusuf Yusuf broke down the right and fed the unmarked Ibrahim, advancing in a central position. The Aspire number seven took his time before slotting home calmly to complete his hat-trick.
Almurisi continued to ask questions of the Shanghai defence, and his efforts were rewarded on full time when he was brought down in the area. Substitute attacker Abdulaziz al-Hasia made no mistake from the spot to make the score 6-1.
The home side saw out the three minutes of added time comfortably, and will take great heart from a resounding victory – one that could have been even more emphatic with greater composure in front of goal.
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