Ooredoo Cup: Al-Sadd lose to Al-Duhail in semifinal

The Al-Sadd first team was defeated by Al-Duhail 1-3 in the semi-final of the Ooredoo Cup, which was held at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday.

With this loss, Al-Sadd exits the championship in the semi-finals. Moroccan striker Ayoub El-Kaabi scored the only goal for Al-Sadd in the 24th minute, while Ferjani Sassi (45+2′ and 55′) and Ismaeel Mohammad (87′) scored the three goals for Al-Duhail.

The match began with a fast and enthusiastic start by both teams, and Akram Afif almost scored the first goal in the first minute for Al-Sadd, but his header hit the left post of Al-Duhail’s goal before the defense cleared it.

In the 24th minute, Al-Sadd managed to take the lead with the first goal scored by Ayoub El-Kaabi, who capitalized on Akram Afif’s pass behind the defense and placed it in the left corner of the Al-Duhail goal, as the goalkeeper left his place, scoring the first goal for the Wolves.

In first-half stoppage time, Ferjani Sassi equalized for Al-Duhail with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area that hit the far left corner of Al-Sadd’s goal.

In the 55th minute, Al-Duhail took the lead with the second goal by Sassi, who took advantage of a corner kick from the right side that Al-Sadd’s defense misjudged, putting it into Al-Sadd’s net.

Al-Sadd’s team increased the pressure to score the equalizer, and in the 68th minute, Akram Afif almost scored but his shot hit the right post of Al-Duhail’s goal and went outside. The attempts of both teams continued until Al-Duhail scored its third goal in the 87th minute through Ismail Mohamed.