Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saida: Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq secured top spot in Group D and ended Al Ahed’s faint hopes of progression in the AFC Cup with a 3-1 victory over the Lebanese side on Tuesday.
Ahmed Al Mubarak opened the scoring for the visitors at Saida Municipal Stadium after 39 minutes and for a long time, it appeared that it might stand up as the only goal of the game.
But a frantic closing spell produced three goals as Saad Al Theyab extended the Saudi club’s lead and Ahmad Zreik pulled a goal back for the hosts in stoppage time before Yahia Al Shehri settled the matter with Al Ettifaq’s third goal.
It was a victorious debut for Al Ettifaq’s newly-appointed Tunisian coach Ammar Al Suwayeh, who took charge last week after Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic was sacked following the team’s quarter-final exit in the King’s Cup.
"The match was my first with Al Ettifaq and the team gave a promising performance,” said Al Suwayeh.
“The two teams created a lot of good chances and we managed to score from our chances. We relied on quick counter attacks after taking the lead and we managed to add two more goals.
“The players showed good form and they followed the tactics very well to get a good victory."
Al Mubarak opened the scoring for the visitors six minutes before half-time. The midfielder made a good run down the left flank and outpaced defender Hasan Mezher before firing in from an acute angle with the help of a deflection off Mezher.
The score stayed that way until the 89th minute when YahiaAl Shehri fired in a powerful shot from outside the box which was blocked by Al Ahed goalkeeper Mohamad Hammoud. However, second half substitute Saad Al Theyabf pounced on the loose ball and turned it in with a first-time shot.
Ahmad Zreik gave the hosts a glimmer of hope when he cut the deficit to 2-1 with a fine solo in the second minute of stoppage time.
But Yahia Al Shehri would have the last laugh in the fourth minute of added time when he lobbed the ball over advancing goalkeeper Mohamad Hammoud to seal the win.
"I want to thank my players for all the effort that they have put in this season. We had a lot of attacking problems and we missed several key players throughout the season due to injuries," said Al Ahed coach Mohamed Sahil.
"The match was open and we created a lot of chances but the players failed to score. The players were tired in the game after we played three matches in the last ten days."