Bounedjah brace steers Sadd into QFs

Two goals from Baghdad Bounedjah helped Al Sadd snatch a 2-2 draw away to Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the second leg of their 2018 AFC Champions League Round of 16 clash in Jeddah yesterday.
The draw was enough to give the Qatari side a 4-3 aggregate win and a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014.
Just like in the first leg, Al Sadd seized the initiative early on. The 2011 champions found the back of the net inside two minutes, with tournament top scorer Bounedjah dribbling into the box from the left before lashing in a fierce strike past Al Ahli keeper Mohamed al-Owais.
The visitors’ delight did not last long as Al Ahli equalised in the ninth minute through Claudemir. The Brazilian midfielder was in the right place in the right time to nod home a header to make it 1-1 on the night.
Al Ahli went on to score another goal and it came just before halftime, when Mohannad Aseri capitalised on Abdelkarim Hassan’s failure to clear the ball and tapped in from close range to level the aggregate scores in the 39th minute.
The goal strengthened the home side’s determination and Fathi Jebali’s men went in search of a goal to put them in the lead in the second half. Aseri came close in the 62nd minute, getting to the end of Abdulfattah Asiri’s cross before somehow miscuing his shot from a couple of yards out.
In the 69th minute, the complexion of the match changed dramatically after the referee awarded a penalty to Al Sadd when Hamid Ismail was brought down in the box by Claudemir.
Al-Owais blocked Bounedjah’s initial effort but the Algerian made no mistake with the rebound to score his ninth goal of the campaign and send his side through to the quarter-finals.
Al Sadd had never failed to qualify to the next round in the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League after avoiding defeat in the first leg of the tie, and they kept that record intact yesterday.
But the match at King Abdullah Stadium was a feisty one with raucous local crowd rallying around the home team. While a victory eluded them, they ensured Al Ahli have only lost one of their eight home games against Qatari sides in the Champions League.

Late strike sends Persepolis into quarter-finals
In Tehran, Seyed Jalal Hosseini’s 89th minute strike gave hosts Persepolis a 2-1 win over UAE’s Al Jazira in the second leg. Persepolis advanced to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.
Al Jazira survived 45 minutes of one-way traffic as Persepolis set up shop at their visitors’ end of the pitch in pursuit of an early leveller.
Despite the pressure, the Iranians could only muster a weak header from Siamak Nemati that was saved by goalkeeper Ali Khaseif and an effort from Farshad Ahmadzadeh that missed the target by a small margin as the two sides headed into the break level.
The home side finally found a breakthrough in the 63rd minute after a well-worked attacking move saw Ahmadzadeh lay-off a pass for Ahmad Nourollahi who struck with venom from 25 yards out into the top corner to put Persepolis in front.
Al Jazira boss Henk ten Cate responded to going behind by introducing striker Ahmed Al Hashmi for defender Mohammed Fawzi, and his attacking intent immediately paid dividends when Al Hashmi combined with Ali Mabkhout inside Persepolis’ half before setting up Romarinho, who drilled in a shot from outside the area into the bottom corner to restore Al Jazira’s aggregate lead in the 70th minute.
Persepolis piled the pressure for the remainder of the game, but all their attempts to find a winner were halted by an inspired Khaseif who denied Godwin Mensha and Ali Alipour back-to-back headers inside the final 10 minutes.
As the strikers failed to find a winner, it was skipper Hosseini who delivered, pouncing on a poor defensive clearance from Musallem Fayez to volley home the winner with a minute to play to send Persepolis into the quarter-finals.