Doha: Nicolás Giménez scored the lone goal as Al Wasl defeated Al Sadd to win the Qatar-UAE Super Shield at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium of Al Sadd Club on Saturday.
The only goal of the match, which came from the Argentine-Emirati midfielder in the 54th minute of the highly entertaining encounter, proved to be just enough as the Emiratis won the prestigious title of the bilateral tournament in brilliant fashion.
The two teams appeared to be evenly matched, with clear-cut chances few and far between and with no room for any errors considering the importance of the match.
However, Al Sadd began to grow into the game with each passing minute, and they could have translated their dominance into goals earlier in the first half were they more clinical in the final third of their opponents.
Al Wasl, the UAE league defending champions, gave the home side a huge scare in the 41st minute when Ali Saleh almost got the opener after a sweeping run that took the intervention of Al Sadd’s defender Pedro Miguel, who stretched to the fullest, to block what was an undeniable goal-bound attempt from the Emirati winger. The attempt was arguably the remaining major highlight of the half as the teams headed into the dugout with no difference between them.
Al Sadd came into the concluding half determined to correct the errors of the previous half and take their chances as much as possible, and it was evident in their more purposeful play upfront as they kept Al Wasl’s defence line on their toes in the first few minutes of the half before the table turned and the visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 54th minute through Giménez, whose pinpointed right-footed rocket of a shot from 25 yards out, from an assist by Haris Seferović, sailed straight into goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb’s net.
The Wolves had an opportunity of restoring parity five minutes later after a flurry of attempts at the opposition goal, but the visitors defence stood solid as they staved off the attacks. Another opportunity came begging in the 66th minute after Miguel’s overhead crossed perfectly located substitute Hassan Al Haydos, but Al Wasl’s goalkeeper Khaled Al Senani’s reflexes were sharp enough to stave off the thumping header from the Al Sadd forward.
The hosts continued to pile pressure on Al Wasl in search of the much-needed equaliser and Rafa Mújica, who came in for Cristo González, painfully saw his long-range shot bounce off the crossbar on its way out in the 78th minute.
Al Wasl’s Senani was on hand to make a one-arm brilliant save from a set piece by Ahmed Suhail in four minutes of added time to keep his team in the lead and to the disappointment of the Al Sadd’s stands, who never relented in their support of their side till the final whistle.
Al Sadd were later reduced to ten men three minutes later after Al Haydos was given the marching orders for his part in a brawl that broke out towards the end of the match.
The incident turned out to be the last major highlight of the match as Al Wasl held on to their lead to lift the Super Shield.
