AFC.com
Al Sadd SC breathed life into their AFC Champions League™ Group E campaign after beating Al Wehdat SC 5-2 on Friday.
The two teams had met on Matchday Three 12 months ago, with Al Sadd winning 3-1 on the night before adding a second win a few days later, meaning Al Wehdat came into Friday’s game in pursuit of their first win against Qatari opponents in the competition.
The Jordanian side came racing out of the blocks and within the first five minutes they had already recorded three shots, with Mohammed Anas testing goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb from outside the box a minute after he had tried a long range shot that went wide.
At the opposite side of the pitch, it was Abdelkarim Hassan, returning from a one-match suspension, who was the main source of danger, heading over the crossbar once and seeing his second header saved by goalkeeper Ahmed Abdelsattar.
The first goal of the night came midway through the opening half after Ali Asad dribbled his way into the box from the right flank, forcing defender Ahmed Haikal to bring him down to concede a penalty. Akram Afif stepped up and confidently powered home to put Al Sadd in front.
As the first half looked headed to end with the solitary goal, Al Wehdat ramped up the pressure and were rewarded for their endeavours generously.
Boulaem Khoukhi’s headed attempt to clear a set-piece only travelled as far as the edge of the penalty box where Ahmed Samir awaited to strike it on the half-volley into the bottom corner, equalising with his second goal of the campaign.
Less than 120 seconds later, club captain Monther Abu Amara’s cross from the corner bounced off Haikal and fell for Anas who fired it home first time to put Al Wehdat in front at the break.
Whatever it is that coach Javi Gracia said to his players at the break, it worked magic as Al Sadd came into the second half a different side. The first sign of what was to come was produced by Guilherme who fired a powerful effort from outside the box, forcing a flying save from Abdelsattar eight minutes after the restart.
Ghana international Andre Ayew set up Santi Cazorla just before the hour mark and the Spanish midfielder found the roof of the net with his left from a narrow angle to bring the game level.
The former English Premier League duo swapped roles four minutes later with Cazorla sending a pinpoint cross from the right for Ayew to guide home with a diving header at the near post, putting Al Sadd in the lead in the 62nd minute.
The Qatari side were not done yet as Afif drove forward in the 72nd minute, cutting back for Ayew who rifled against the crossbar with his left and the rebound fell for substitute Rodrigo Tabata who calmly headed it into the empty net for 4-2. At 41 years, 4 months and 27 days, Tabata became the second oldest goal scorer in the AFC Champions League history only behind Tampines Rovers’ Daniel Bennett.
Substitute Mohammed Waad rounded off the scoring, finding the bottom corner with a composed left-footed finish from inside the box to complete the rout.
With the victory, Al Sadd move up to four points in the group, while Al Wehdat stay bottom with one point at the halfway point.