Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Amman: Al Wehdat coach Kais Yakoubi hailed his side’s 1-0 win over Lebanon’s Nejmeh SC in their first 2019 AFC Cup Group A match.
The Jordanian side had marked their return to the competition with a hard-fought victory over Nejmeh at King Abdullah II Stadium on Monday.
Just 48 hours before their first continental encounter, Al Wehdat had to navigate an away trip to Irbid where they defeated Al Sareeh 4-2 in the domestic league. And coach Yakoubi was adamant that fixture congestion had impacted his side’s preparations for the Nejmeh clash.
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Amman: Saeed Al Murjan's 11th minute strike secured Al Wehdat of Jordan a 1-0 win over Lebanon's Nejmeh SC in their opening 2019 AFC Cup Group A match on Monday.
The Jordanian side returned to the competition after missing out on the 2018 edition, their only absence in the past five years. Nejmeh, finalists in 2005, had exited at the group stage in each of their previous two appearances in 2015 and 2017.
A well-worked attacking move from a set-piece sent the home crowed into raptures as Al Wehdat took the lead just 11 minutes into the game.
Al Murjan was left with a simple tap in from point-blank range after Rajaei Ayed’s intelligently dinked pass found Hamza Al Dardour in plenty of space. The forward selflessly squared for Al Murjan who netted Al Wehdat’s opener.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Muharraq: Hilal Alquds collected their first-ever AFC Cup point, earning a 1-1 draw against Syria’s Al Jaish in the latter’s adopted home in Bahrain in the opening match of Group A on Monday.
After failing to navigate the competition’s play-off stage on two previous occasions, the Palestinian side qualified for this year’s group stage after overcoming Oman’s Al Nasr.
At Al Muharraq Stadium, youngster Odai Dabbagh was full of energy throughout. It took the Palestinian international five minutes to threaten. He calmly controlled Jonathan Zorrilla’s corner inside the box, dribbled past two defenders before seeing his shot deflected behind for another corner-kick.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The 2019 AFC Cup Group Stage gets underway with the West Zone kicking off the action on Monday. And, for the first time in three years, a new champion will be crowned with Air Force Club not appearing at this year's edition.
In the absence of the three-time champions and their two-time AFC Cup MVP striker Hammadi Ahmed, here are six stars from the West Zone who could lead their sides to continental glory this year.
Some have a glorious AFC Cup history while others will be making their debut in the competition this year, but all will surely be bringing their magic to pitches across the continent over the next few months.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuwait City: Kuwait SC and Al Ittihad of Syria shared the spoils in their 2019 AFC Cup Group B opening match after a goalless draw at Kuwait Sports Club Stadium on Monday.
Three-time AFC Cup winners Kuwait SC returned to the competition after a three-year enforced hiatus.
The two sides got off to a cautious start as Mohamad Omar hit on the half-volley from the edge of the box but could not strike the ball cleanly enough to trouble Kuwait SC’s Hameed Youssuf.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Bahrain's Al Najma came back from a goal down to salvage a 1-1 draw against Al Jazeera of Jordan in their opening 2019 AFC Cup Group B tie at the Bahrain National Stadium on Monday.
Last year’s West Asia Zonal semi-finalists quickly moved into second gear as Yazan Al Arab got on the end of an Ahmed Al Essawi corner kick, but the defender fluffed his lines from close range 17 minutes in.
It was Al Jazeera’s second attempt of the night that produced the first goal. Islam Batran collected the ball deep into Al Najma’s half and laid it off for Mahmoud Al Mardi.
The Jordanian playmaker still had a lot to do, cutting inside into his right foot and unleashing a thunderous curler into the far corner of Ahmed Rasool’s net to break the deadlock 18 minutes in.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Beirut: Qadsia SC and Lebanon’s Al Ahed opened their 2019 AFC Cup campaigns with a goalless draw on Tuesday.
The 2014 AFC Cup champions returned to the competition after a four-year absence following a FIFA ban on Kuwaiti football.
A quiet opening period only came to life ten minutes before the break as the hosts threatened for the first time through Martin Toshev.
The Kuwaiti defence failed to clear a Hussein Dakik cross, and the Bulgarian striker pounced on the rebound, but his miscued effort was cleared off the goal line.