Doha: Al Sadd registered an important 1-0 victory against Emirati side Al Wahda in their third and final pre-season friendly, which was played in Munich on Saturday night.
Al Sadd started the match with caution before gaining the upper hand and dominating proceedings. The team created a number of chances including two memorable opportunities for Muriqui and Hassan al Haydous.
Saad Al Dosari was in top form in Al Sadd’s goal, denying Mohammed Al Shehhi in the last minute of the first half. The teams went into halftime goalless.
In the second half, Al Sadd continued where they left off, with a couple of attempts at the Al Wahda goal. In the 62nd minute, Abdulkarim Hassan was adjudged to have been fouled in the box and Hassan Al Haydous dispatched the resulting penalty to give the Wolves the lead.
The team continued to dominate in the middle of the park after the goal, although Al Wahda managed a few dangerous shots on goal which were saved by the goalkeeper.
The deputy head of football at Al Sadd, Jafal Rashed Al Kuwari (pictured), expressed his delight with the way the team has benefitted from the friendly matches being played in Austria.
“The Al Ain friendly felt more like an official game, the coaching staff managed to get the most out of it. There was a good level play during the first half and Sadd had the majority of the possession. In the second half, the performance declined slightly as the team has yet to reach its full potential,” he said.
With regard to the new season, the former Al Sadd player pointed out that the new season would be difficult with all the teams preparing well.
Al Rayyan go down to Al Shabab
Al Rayyan lost to Saudi side Al Shabab 1-0 in a pre-season friendly in the Netherlands on Saturday.
The only goal was scored by Hassan Moaz in the 49th minute of the second half.
The friendly was broken up into four halves, each of which was half an hour. Al Rayyan head coach Fossati fielded lots of players as well as tinkering with a variety of formations.
Al Rayyan will now play Al Khor on Wednesday. The newly- promoted side also lost their first friendly to Ajax Amsterdam by one goal.
Al Gharafa beat Al Shaab
Al Gharafa defeated Emirati outfit Al Shaab 3-1 in their first friendly in Germany, where the team’s overseas training programme is being held. The match was played on Friday evening.
Abdel Rahman Fayez, Alain Dioko and Muayyad Hassan scored Al Gharafa’s goals.
The match was played in three segments, with each segment lasting half an hour.
Al Khor draw with Sparta Rhotterdam
Al Khor drew with the Dutch team Sparta Rhotterdam 3-3 in a pre-season friendly played on Friday evening in the Netherlands.
THE PENINSULA
