Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Shah Alam: Al Sadd SC of Qatar qualified for the semi-final as Group A leaders after defeating Al Salmiya of Kuwait 7-4 in Zone 1 qualifiers of the AFC Futsal Club Championship 2013 on Sunday.
In a high-scoring match played at the Panasonic Sports Complex, both teams were through to the semis regardless of Sunday’s result meaning both sides were determined to hone their attacking skills ahead of Tuesday’s semi-finals in which the winners will qualify for the finals to be held in Nagoya, Japan, in August.
The Qataris set the tone of the match after Brazilian Patrick Vieira opened their account as early as in the second minute of the match. Al Salmiya pulled one back immediately through Naser Alqalaf as he dribbled past two Al Sadd defenders at the centre and rounded off goalie Ahmad Khalil.
Egypt born Al Sadd captain Amro Mohssein (in picture) struck a quick-fire hattrick within five minutes as by the eighth minute Al Sadd were 4-1 up. Mohammed Ibrahim made it 5-1 in the 17th minute but Salmiya reduced the deficit to 5-2 just before the half-time after a brilliant finish from Salem Almekaimi.
Al Salmiya tried their best in the second half by scoring two goals but the Qataris also added a couple of goals of their own to win the match comfortably in the end.
“Amongst those four goals they scored two were because of our mistakes so we must rectify this sort of problems when playing curial matches in the tournament,” Al Sadd coach Mohammed Eisa told www.the-afc.com .
His counterpart Paulo Cesar admitted that he rested some of his best players keeping an eye on the semi-finals. “There were few players on yellow card so I did not put them on the starting list and likewise our Brazilian professional was also given rest for Tuesday’s big match,” said the Brazilian.
Goals
| **Al Sadd** | **Al Salmiya** |
| Amro Mohaseen 3', 4', 8' | Hamzah Muhammed 26', 27' |
| Flavio Barreto 26' 38' | Naser Alqalaf 2' |
| Patrick Vieira 2' | Salem Almekaimi 19' |
| Mohamed Ibrahim 17' |
Photo: Karim Jafar