Qatar SC players celebrate after Bashar Rasan scored their second goal.
Doha: Yousuf Abdurisag’s strike yesterday proved enough to take two-time defending champions Al Sadd into the quarter-finals of the 50th Amir Cup as they beat Muaither 1-0 at Grand Hamad Stadium.
Although the score-line might not suggest but the 18-time champions were in their traditional aggressive style from the word go dominating their Second Division opponents throughout the match.
The winning goal for Al Sadd came in the 13th minute following a series of attacks, with Abdurisag netting the ball after receiving goalkeeper’s rebound following Akram Afif’s attempt.
Musab Khader had a role to play in the goal as he smartly lobbed the ball to Afif, who was stationed at a good position inside the box.
The Wolves continued to push for more goals and fired over a dozen of shots on target but Muaither did well to avoid further damage.
Captain Hassan Al Haydos was happy with Al Sadd’s progress in the event but said the team must rectify mistakes.
“Our performance was not that good especially for our fans, but in such matches the most important thing is to win and qualify for the next stage of the tournament,” Al Haydos said after the win.
“We have enough time to correct our mistakes as we wasted many scoring chances, which is repeated for the second time in a row after the last match in the league,” Al Sadd captain added.
Al Sadd will now meet the winner of today’s last-16 clash between Al Ahli and Al Markhiya to be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
Qatar SC edge Al Shamal 2-1
Also yesterday, Qatar SC advanced to the quarter-finals after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Al Shamal at the same venue.
Bashar Rasan fired the winner for Qatar SC in the 68th minute after Al Shamal’s Mohamed El Sayed (40th minute) cancelled Djamel Benlamri’s 25th minute goal.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli coach Nebojsa Jovovic was hopeful for a win against Al Markhiya today.
“Our team’s level has been improving in the last few games. Our aim is to develop further and get a positive result,” he told a pre-match press conference yesterday.
Al Markhiya coach Abdulla Al Eidan said: “We are focused on the game against Al Ahli by determining strengths and weaknesses. The Amir Cup has always been a tournament with an ideal atmosphere.”
Al Arabi will take on Al Sailiya in today’s other Round of 16 match.
“All the games in the Amir Cup are tough, they are completely different from the league games. Al Sailiya will not be an easy opponent,” Al Arabi coach Younes Ali said ahead of the match.
Al Sailiya coach Sami Trabelsi hoped for a better performance from his side, which is on the bottom of QNB Stars League standings.
“The Amir Cup doesn’t work in the same way as the league. We have a great group of players, who can get us the positive result against Al Arabi,” said Trabelsi.
Amir Cup: Round of 16
Yesterday’s Result
Al Sadd beat Muaither 1-0
Qatar SC beat Al Shamal 2-1
Today
4:40pm: Al Ahli vs Al Markhiya at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
7:30pm: Al Arabi vs Al Sailiya at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium
