Al Sadd captain Rodrigo Tabata in action during match against Al Ahli, yesterday. PIC: Abdul Basit
Doha: Captain Rodrigo Tabata scored a late winner as reigning champions Al Sadd edged gutsy Al Ahli 3-2 to secure their first victory of the QNB Stars League (QSL) season at the Ahmad Ali Stadium, yesterday.
Andre Ayew set up Tabata by countering three defenders inside the box as the captain just had to chip the ball in from a close range for a winning goal in the 87th minute.
Al Sadd, who suffered a shock defeat to promoted Al Markhiya in the opener and played a draw against Umm Salal, moved to four points after the win.
While Al Sadd controlled the game with a better ball possession and over a dozen of shots on target, the 16-time champions had to overcome a goal deficit twice in the match to claim victory.
Yazan Al Naimat fired Al Ahli ahead in the ninth minute, with Ahmad Mohamedd cancelling the lead in the 18th minute with a volley off a cross from Abdulla Badr.
Sofiane Hanni regained the lead for Al Ahli with a strike three minutes before half-time. Guilherme Torres, however, leveled the score again in stoppage time (45+3) of the first half by slotting the ball in after Baghdad Bounedjah’s header off a cross hit the post.
The second half saw more attempts from Al Sadd, who were finally paid off with an all-important goal by Tabata, leaving coach Juan Manuel Lillo delighted.
“We needed this victory. It’s an important win for us. We deserved it in the first two games as well, but we missed both our chances,” he said.
“We played well and we were a better side [against Al Ahli]. We scored and created many chances and made mistakes as well, but we won well-deservedly.”
“We will continue to work for the next match with full force and will not stop. We have great confidence in all the players, especially the young people who are developing from one game to another and helping the team a lot,” he added.
Al Shamal rally to stun Al Gharafa
Also yesterday, Yacine Bammou scored a second-half brace to help Al Shamal register an impressive 2-1 victory at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Al Gharafa star Yacine Brahimi gave them a lead in 24th minute, with Al Shamal returning strongly in the second half.
Bammou equalised in the 69th minute with a brilliant volley from an Ali Iyad Olwan cross and scored the winner eight minutes later with a header off a corner kick.
The victory took Al Shamal to third on the table with six points while Al Gharafa slipped to sixth with four points.
Meanwhile, Al Duhail coach Hernan Crespo expressed his delight on a 2-1 victory over Al Rayyan on Tuesday, saying claiming full points against a tough side was a good achievement from his team.
"We achieved an important victory over a strong opponent after an exciting match,” Crespo said.
"Al Duhail are working to build a distinct identity and the approach may be new to the players, which creates a certain margin of error temporarily, so achieving positive results in this period is a very good thing," he added.
Crespo also thanked fans for their support in the important match.
"I am very grateful for the support that the team is getting from the fans, who have been supporting the team in a wonderful way."
