Khaled Youssef Haj scored eight goals for Qatar’s Al Sadd but Fuchse Berlin of Germany still managed to take a 26-20 victory to set up the title clash with Barcelona, a repeat from last year’s edition, in the 2018 IHF Super Globe handball tournament at Duhail Sports Hall yesterday.
And like last year, the German team went past the 2002 champions in the semi-finals.
Berlin went first on to the scoreboard with Fabian Wiede scoring in the third minute before Mattias Zakrisson doubled it.
Youssef scored first of his eight goals in the sixth minute before teammate Amir Denguir levelled the scores the next minute.
However, Berlin managed to keep Sadd quiet for the next ten minutes, while adding eight goals to their tally.
Five Youssef goals closed the gap as Sadd stayed in contention with a two-goal deficit at 9-11 at half-time.
Hans Lindberg and Jacob Holm, both scored six goals each in the game, got the scoreboard ticking again early in the second half, even as Berlin steadily pulled away.
Eventually Denguir scored his fifth goal of the game in the final moments but by then Berlin had already done the damage.
Earlier in the evening, Barcelona beat Montpellier 37-30 in the other semi-final after marginally trailing 18-19 at the break.
The Catalans are gunning for their fourth title since the tournament was first hosted in Qatar in 2010, having won in 2013, 2014 and 2017.
Barcelona’s Dika Akwa Mem in action during the IHF Super Globe semi-final against Montpellier at Duhail Sports Hall yesterday. Mem scored six goals in his team’s 37-30 win. PICTURES: Anas Khalid
