Another blow for Sadd after shock loss to Umm Salal

Umm Salal stunned 10-man Al Sadd 3-1 in the Ooredoo Stars League at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Friday. Kenji Gorre (2nd minute), Antonio Mance (22nd minute) and Edidiong Essien (90+3 minute) scored for Umm Salal while Al Sadd’s only goal came via a penalty strike taken by Hassan al-Haydos (70th minute).
Making matters worse for Al Sadd was a second yellow card for Mohammed Waad in the 52nd minute when he brought down Oussama Tannane.
The Orange Fortress outclassed the defending champions for their second win of the league to move into fourth place with six points, while Al Sadd stay third at six points. It was Al Sadd’s second loss of the league after being shocked in the opening round by Al Shamal.
Umm Salal caught the The Wolves by surprise after a Omar Yahya through ball from the left was cut off by Ahmed Suhail but it went to a running in Gorre, who chested it first before managing to kick it in. The second Umm Salal goal was realised after a Gorre kick was blocked by goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb but Gorre retrieved it on bounce back before battling a defending Suhail and pushing the ball to Mance to score.
Al Sadd’s challenge to launch a fight back then began but despite their best efforts the target remained elusive for long. Among their many close runs in the opening half was Haydos missing a crucial connect near the post, a Waad kick going just wide of the right post and a powerful Rafa Mujica kick missing the top right corner. At the same time, Umm Salal goalkeeper Landing Badji was at his best as he kept many attempted hits away including one from Akram Afif at the hour mark.
Both teams battled hard before Al Sadd were awarded a penalty after Marouane Louadni brought down Naim Abdulrazaq inside the danger area. A long VAR check confirmed the spot kick which was smoothly scored by Haydos to make the scores 2-1.
In the 78th minute, al-Sheeb made a brilliant save to keep a shot from Umm Salal’s Khalaf Saad away. Minutes later, Gorre was within striking distance but failed to beat al-Sheeb with Boualem Khoukhi in chase putting him off balance. Umm Salal however scored a superb celebratory third goal as Al Sadd substitute tried to cut off a free kick from the left but the ball went to a lurking Essien – who rattled the top of the net with a left-foot strike.
Elsewhere, Al Rayyan defeated Al Shahania 4-2 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The enthralling contest with all out attacking play from either side saw all but one goal being scored in the opening half. Mahmoud Hassan (fifth minute, Roger Guedes (ninth and 45+4 minutes) and Julien De Sart (15th minute) scored for Al Rayyan, while Mohammed Ibrahim (20th minute) and substitute Mohammed Ismail (90th minute) got Al Shahania’s goals.
But unlike what the scoreline may suggest, Al Shahania produced spirited play despite early setbacks attacking the rival den time and again. They also got the ball into the net a second time in second half, but it was cancelled after a VAR check.
This was Al Rayyan’s second win of the league championship and took their tally to six points after two defeats in the previous rounds. Al Shahania stayed on two points. It was also The Lions’ successive win over the same opponents whom they had also beaten in the first round of QSL Cup recently.
Guedes not only scored two goals for the winners, he also provided a valuable assist in the opening goal and later had his two successful strikes turned down as he was found offside.
In the other match on Friday, Al Gharafa and Al Shamal drew 1-1. Shamal went ahead after a own goal from Saif Fadlalla in the 11th minute, before Gharafa also benefitted off a own goal from Mohammed Khaled al-Naumi in the 36th minute.