AFC.com
Al Wehdat secured a famous 3-1 victory against Qatar’s Al Sadd on Matchday Four of the AFC Champions League™ 2022 Group E at Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium on Tuesday.
The Jordanian side came into the game with the knowledge any result other than victory would diminish their chances of reaching the knockout stage for the first time in their history, while Al Sadd needed three points to stay in contention for the top spot.
On the pitch it was end-to-end action throughout the game, with both sides creating chances in abundance.
It took 10 minutes for Al Wehdat to get their first clear sight of goal when Ghanaian forward Mohammed Anas took possession of the ball inside the Al Sadd box following a poor defensive clearance and set up Ahmed Samir with the goal at his mercy, but the latter’s effort was tame and goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb caught it comfortably.
Rodrigo Tabata and Abdelkarim Hassan threatened at the other end with efforts that could not find the target, while Anas was left wondering how he didn’t score in the 26th minute after an Al Wehdat set-piece produced chaos inside Al Sadd area and the ball fell to him inches from the goal line, but he could not react quick enough and fluffed his lines.
The second half started in a similar fashion, but this time Al Wehdat were more clinical and needed just three minutes to open the scoring after club captain Mohammed Al Dameiri took advantage of Al Sheeb’s spilled attempt to catch a cross from the corner and drilled an effort from the edge of the area that found its way through the congested penalty area and between the legs of the Al Sadd goalkeeper into the back of the net.
Al Sadd responded within just six minutes as Jung Woo-young’s long pass was controlled by Andre Ayew who fought off the challenge of the Jordanian defender to retain possession before the onrushing Tabata fired it home for the equaliser, beating his own record as the second oldest goalscorer in the history of the AFC Champions League by four days.
It took exactly as many minutes for Al Wehdat to take the lead again. Mohammed Abu Hasheesh advanced down the left flank and sent a low cross that found its way to the far post where Al Sadd defender Hassan lost his footing and allowed Khaled Assam to control and apply a composed finish at the hour mark.
Al Wehdat’s victory was cemented 15 minutes from time when Cameroonian midfielder Clarence Bitang led a quick counter attack before feeding Samir who cut on his left and hammered home his side’s third of the night.
A first victory against Al Sadd on the fourth time of asking for Al Wehdat means they are now level with the Qataris on four points, but the head-to-head record favours Al Sadd.