Al-Sadd reached the final of the Ooredoo Cup, with a 2-0 win over Al-Ahli in the semifinal game that was played on Saturday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
The result saw Al-Sadd book their spot in the final of the competition, where they will face Al-Arabi, who defeated Al-Rayyan 2-1 in the other semifinal earlier in the day.
Santi Cazorla opened the socring with his first goal for Al-Sadd in the 71st minute, and Akram Afif then came off the bench to double the lead in the second minute of stoppage time.
After a calm start, the match came into life midway through the first half, as Al-Sadd took control, and pushed forward in search of the opening goal. Hussam Kamal sent in a great cross from the right in the 35th minute, but the Al-Ahli defence was able to clear the danger before the ball reached Baghdad Bounedjah.
In the second half, Al-Sadd improved their offensive play and came close to scoring in the 56th minute, when Bounedjah’s shot flew just wide of the right post. Xavi then made his first changes in the 59th minute, bringing on Mohammed Waad and Akram Afif in place of Tabata and Hussam Kamal.
Then, Cazorla put his mark on the game with a superb first-time strike, as he scored on his debut to give Al-Sadd the lead in the 71st minute.
Afif then secured the result with a goal in stoppage time, playing a one-two with fellow substitute Ahmed Bader Sayyar, who had replaced Cazorla, and then finishing coolly past Ivanildo in Al-Ahli’s goal.
MATCH DETAILS
Al-Sadd x Al-Ahli
2019-20 Ooredoo Cup semifinal
Venue:
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
Lineups:
Al-Sadd: Meshaal Barsham, Abdelkarim Hassan, Jung Woo-young, Baghdad Bounedjah (Hassan Al-Haydos), Rodrigo Tabata (Mohammed Waad), Bahaa El-Leithy, Santi Cazorla (Ahmed Sayyar), Yusuf Abdurisag (Hashim Ali), Ahmed Suhail, Musab Kheder, Hussam Kamal (Akram Afif)
Al-Ahli: Ivanildo, Shane Lowry, Mohammed Khaled Al-Naimi, Mohammed Diame, Mohammed Abdulnassser, Nabil El Zhar, Magid Mohammad (Mohsin Al Yazidi), Khaled Mohammed Saleh, Jassim Omar, Abdulrasheed Umaru, Hazem Shehata
Result:
Al-Sadd won 2-0
Goals:
Santi Cazorla 71′
Akram Afif 90+2′
Bookings:
Baghdad Bounedjah 14′
Magid Mohammed 42′
Nabil El Zhar 86′
Referees:
Salman Falahi (Main referee)
Khaled Ayed (Assistant referee)
Majed Al-Shammari (Assistant referee)
Khaled Abdullah (Fourth official)
